



FRUIT 




li- 




Class ^JUJ!^ 

Book V L f4- 

CQEOUGUEr OSFOSm 



THE 

California Fruits 

AND 

HOW TO GROW THEM 



A MANUAL OF METHODS WHICH HAVE 
YIELDED GREATEST SUCCESS, WITH THE 
LISTS OF VARIETIES BEST ADAPTED TO 
THE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS OF THE STATE 



By/ 

EDWARD J: WICKSON 

Professor of Horticulture Emeritus in the College of Agriculture of the University of 
California; Author of "California Vegetables in Garden and Field," "California Garden 
Flowers, Shrubs, Trees and Vines," One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture 
Answered," and "Second Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered"; 
Editor of Pacific Rural Press. 



The branch here bends beneath the weighty pear, 
And verdant olives flourish round the year; 
The balmy Spirit of the Western gale 
Eternal breathes on fruits untaught to fail; 
Each dropping pear a following pear supplies. 
On apples, apples; figs on figs arise. 
The same mild season gives the blooms to blow, 
The buds to harden, and the fruits to grow. 

—Pope's Horn. Odys. Bk. VII. 



NINTH EDITION— Fully Revised 



SAN FRANCISCO 

PACIFIC RURAL PRESS 

NINETEEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY-ONE 



^^p 



\0,1> 



Copyright, 1921, 

By E. J. Wickson and Pacific Rural Press. 

Published, October, 1921. 



§)C!.A627614 



NOV -4 i9>i 



Abbott-Brady Printing Corporation 
San Francisco 



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PREFACE 

The Eighth Edition of this treatise outstripped its im- 
mediate predecessors in meeting a public demand which 
covered the available supply much sooner than antici- 
pated. Because of the desirability of keeping the work 
abreast of the progress of a constantly changing and 
developing industry, the publishers have assumed the 
burden of resetting the type for each edition, resisting 
the temptation of greater profit which would attend re- 
printing from plates with minimum revision. There- 
fore this edition is wholly set anew — the ninth op- 
portunity for free revision which the writer has enjoyed 
during the publication of the work, which has reached a 
total of twenty-five thousand copies since the appearance 
of the first edition in 1889. 

Of the quality of the book, it does not become the writer 
to speak, but he may express his satisfaction at its popu- 
larity. Its circulation may be cited as a testimonial of its 
suitability for service in the building up of the fruit in- 
dustries, and the demand for it may be regarded as rather 
unique, when it is remembered that the book deals exclu- 
sively with the fruit growing of a single State which is 
only one, although it be the greatest, of the agricultural 
interests of that State. The demand for the book is an 
exponent of the continued activity in California fruit 
planting, and its sale abroad indicates the fact that the 
outside world is watching California's fruit development, 
and desires to know the methods by which a product 
which brought to growers a return of $236,955,000 in 
1920 — a figure, of course, much below its commercial 
valuation. 

The writer repeats the request which he has made in 
earlier editions that all readers whose observation and 
work teach them any better way than he has described in 
this book shall share with him the advantages of such 
greater wisdom. 

EDWARD J. WICKSON. 

University of California, 

Berkeley, September, 1921. 



CONTENTS 



PART one: general 

Chapter 

I The Climate of California and Its Modifications. 

II Why the California Qimate Favors the Growth of Fruit. 

III The Fruit Soils of California. 

IV The Wild Fruits of California. 
V The California Mission Fruits. 

VI California's Leadership in American Fruit Industries. 



PART two: culture 

VII Gearing the Land for Fruit. 

VIII The Nursery. 

IX Budding and Grafting. 

X Preparation for Planting. 

XI Planting of Trees. 

XII Pruning Trees and Thinning Fruit. 

XIII Cultivation. 

XIV Fertilizers for Trees and Vines. 
XV Irrigation of Fruit Trees and Vines. 



PART three: orchard fruits 

XVI Commercial Fruit Varieties. 

XVII The Apple. 

XVIII The Apricot. 

XIX The Cherry. 

XX The Peach. 

XXI The Nectarine. 

XXII The Pear. 

XXIII Plums and Prunes. 

XXIV The Quince. 



PART FOUR : THE GRAPE 
Chapter 

XXV The Grape Industry. 

XXVI Propagating and Planting Vines. 

XXVII Pruning and Care of the Vine. 

XXVIII Grape Varieties in California. 



PART FIVE : SEMI-TROPICAL FRUITS 

XXIX The Avocado. 

XXX The Date. 

XXXI The Fig. 

XXXII The Olive. 

XXXIII The Orange. 

XXXIV The Pomelo or Grape Fruit. 
XXXV The Lemon. 

XXXVI Minor Semi-Tropical Fruits. 

PART SIX : SMALL FRUITS 

XXXVII Berries and Currants. 

PART SEVEN : NUTS 

XXXVIII The Almond. 
XXXIX The Walnut. 
XL Minor Nuts. 

PART EIGHT : FRXHT PRESERVATION 

XLI Fruit Canning, Crystallizing and Drying. 

PART nine: frxht protection 

XLII Injurious Insects. 
XLIII Diseases of Trees and Vines. 
XLIV Suppression of Injurious Animals and Birds. 

XLV Protection from Wind and Frost. 



part ten : MISCELLANEOUS 

XLVI Utilization of Fruit Wastes. 
Topical Index. 



California Fruits 



PART ONE: GENERAL 



CHAPTER I 



THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA AND ITS LOCAL 
MODIFICATIONS 

In climatic conditions affecting horticulture we have in Cali- 
fornia almost an epitome of all other parts of the United States, 
with added climatic characters which no other part possesses. We 
have high mountain valleys with wintry temperature-conditions, 
where only hardy northern fruits can be grown ; we have hot valleys 
where the date palm confidently Hfts its head to the fiery sunshine, 
while its feet are deeply planted in moist substrata beneath the 
sandy surface ; but we can not claim tropical conditions, because our 
dry air denies us many strictly tropical growths, although we have 
frostless sites for them. Intermediate between the cold and snow 
of the mountains and the heat and sand of the desert, we have every 
describable modification and gradation, and, naturally, it is between 
these extremes that our richest inheritance of horticultural adapta- 
tion lies. 

When the breadth and scope of our horticultural adaptations 
are realized, it becomes apparent that an enumeration of the fruits 
we can grow successfully would be, in fact, a catalogue of the 
known fruits of the world, except those which are strictly tropical. 
Wherever there is a northern or southern departure from the 
equator sufficient to bring energy to mankind, or where the same 
is accomplished by elevation upon tropical mountainside or plateau, 
there also are fruits which find a welcoming home in California, 
and are improved by the intelligent cultivation and selection which 
here prevail. On the other hand, it has been abundantly demon- 
strated, during recent years, by official awards at great exhibitions 



10 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

and by the sharp criteria of the markets as well, that the fruits of 
wintry regions are quite as much benefited by transfer to proper 
locations in California as are the people who come to grow them. 
From north and south alike, then, California makes grand acquisi- 
tions and includes within her area the adaptations of the whole 
country, with some which no other State possesses. 

But while this horticultural scope is claimed for the State as a 
whole, it is necessary to add that local adaptations within the State 
must be very narrowly drawn. Our greatest failures have followed 
ill choice of location for the purpose intended. Whenever certain 
California fruits have been ill spoken of, they have been produced 
in the wrong places, or by ill-advised methods. It is possible, then, 
to produce both poor and perfect fruit of a given kind. It may be 
said this can be done anywhere by the extremes of culture and neg- 
lect, but to this proposition it must be added that in California 
equally excellent methods and care may produce perfection in one 
place and the opposite in another. One who seeks to know Cali- 
fornia well must undertake to master both its horticultural greatness 
and littleness ; and so closely are these associated, and so narrow the 
belts of special adaptations, that there are many counties which have 
a range of products nearly as great as the State itself. 

It is hard for the stranger to realize this. It is difficult for him 
to believe that the terms "northern" and "southern" have almost 
no horticultural significance in California ; that northern fruits reach 
perfection, under proper conditions, at the south, and vice versa; 
that some regions of greatest rainfall have to irrigate most fre- 
quently ; that some of greatest heat have sharpest valley frosts ; that 
some fruits can be successfully grown through a north and south 
distance of 300 miles, but can not be successfully carried a few hun- 
dred feet of either less or greater elevation ; that on the same parallel 
of latitude within a hundred miles of distance, from coast to moun- 
tainside, one can continuously gather marketable Bartlett pears 
for three months — not to mention the second crop, from belated 
blossoms, which is often of account on the same trees in the same 
season. 

Through the multitude of local observations, which seem per- 
plexing and almost contradictory, it is possible to clearly discern 
certain general conditions, of both nature and culture, which may 
be briefly advanced as characteristically and distinctively Cali- 
fornian. 

The climate of the Pacific Coast is described by the meteorologist 
as "insular or moderate," as contrasted with the "continental or 
excessive" climate of the regions east of the Sierra Nevada. The 
west coast of Europe is also insular in its climate. The northern 
limit of an annual mean temperature of 50 degrees Fahr. is 50 de- 
grees and 47 degrees of north latitude on western coasts of Europe 
and America respectively. But though there is this similarity in 
mean annual temperature, there is a decided advantage pertaining to 
our climate over that of west Europe in that our range of temper- 
ature is less ; that is, extremes of heat and cold are nearer together, 
and changes are therefore much less excessive. This characteristic 



TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE J J 

of our local climates is due in the main to two great agencies, one 
active, bringing heat, the other passive, shielding us from arctic 
influences. 

First : Our proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Professor Alexander 
G. McAdie, for twenty years in charge of the San Francisco office of 
the Unted States Weather Bureau, and now Professor of Meteor- 
ology at Harvard University, says of the mildness of the California 
climate : "The Pacific Ocean is a great natural conservator of heat, 
the mean annual temperature of which near the California Coast 
ranges from 50 degrees to 60 degrees F. The strength of the west- 
erly winds which prevail on the California Coast for more than half 
the days of the year is due to the fact that the whole drift of the 
atmosphere is prevailingly from the west to east. The climate of 
west coasts is consequently less severe than the climate of east 
coasts."* 

Second : Another agency contributing to the mild climate of the 
Pacific Coast consists in the mountain barriers upon our northern 
and eastern boundaries. It was Guyot who first called attention to 
the fact that the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Mountains reach 
the coast of Alaska and bend like a great arm around its western 
and southern shore, thus shutting off or deflecting the polar winds 
that otherwise would flow down over the Pacific Coast States, while 
California has her own additional protection from the north in the. 
mountain arch which has its keystone in Mount Shasta. 



CHIEF TOPOGRAPHICAL AND CLIMATIC DIVISIONS OF 

CALIFORNIA 

California is usually divided into three main areas and climates, 
each distinct in typical conditions and yet separated by regions, 
more or less wide, in which these conditions merge and influence 
each other. Dr. Robertson says if 

Isothermal lines which normally run east and west are, as they near the 
Pacific, deflected north and south, and define three distinct climatic belts. 
These may be named coast, valley and mountain; and while they resemble 
each other in having two seasons, they are dissimilar in other respects. 
These differences depend upon the topography of the country, and are of 
degree rather than of kind; altitude, distance from the ocean, and situation 
with reference to mountain chains, giving to each region its characteristic 
climate. 

How similar are the conditions which prevail in these belts may 
be learned from the data shown in the following table, which in- 
cludes points separated by nearly the whole length of the State, the 
difference in latitude of the extreme north and south points being 
seven or eight degrees. Thus, through a north or south distance 
great as that which separates the States of Georgia and New York, 
similar climatic conditions prevail in California. In the following 

*"The Rainfall of California," University of California Publications in Geography. 1914. 
tReport of State Agricultural Society, 1886, page 322. 



12 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



table the averages are deduced from observations by the United 
States Weather Bureau observers for a long series of years : 

Seasonable and extreme temperatures and average rainfall in various Cali- 
fornia regions from the records of the United States Weather Bureau from 
beginning of observations to the close of 1920. 



STATIONS COUNTY 



-• S . s* c • . •« . . . Si-S 

^ Is a2 3 2 -33 c2 2 S t" 

o V Ufli 4j(u i>a V V .fciO o .<* 

•r; tjoa Mq, Ma boa soa mft -sa "n't; 

1 26 2e 2B 2a 2fi ^B Se §.S 

> ^«J „„ ^1, 1,0; t;aj bfii |«i g2 

COAST 

Eureka Humboldt 64 47 SO 56 54 51 85 20 46.0 

San Francisco. San Francisco 155 51 55 59 59 55 101 29 22.3 

San Jose Santa Clara 95 50 57 67 60 58 108 18 16.8 

King City.... Monterey 333 49 57 66 60 58 116 14 11.4 

Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara.... 130 55 58 65 63 60 108 29 18.1 

Los Angeles.. Los Angeles 293 55 60 70 65 62 109 28 15.6 

San Diego.... San Diego 87 55 59 68 63 61 101 32 10.0 

VALLEY— 

Redding Shasta 552 47 60 80 64 63 112 18 38.7 

Sacramento... Sacramento 71 47 59 72 62 60 110 19 20.1 

Merced Merced 173 49 61 79 65 63 116 16 10.8 

Fresno Fresno 293 47 60 79 64 63 115 20 9.7 

Visalia ..Tulare 334 46 59 78 62 61 114 13 10.4 

FOOTHILL AND MESA— 

Auburn Placer 1360 47 57 75 64 61 110 12 33.9 

Redlands San Bernardino. .. 1352 52 61 77 65 63 114 25 14.9 



LOCATIONS FOR THE GROWTH OF DIFFERENT 

FRUITS 

It is intended to describe as definitely as possible the locations 
suitable for the growth of different fruits in the special chapters 
given to those fruits, but there are a few general conditions which 
should be outlined. 

In discussing the choice of location for an orchard it is not 
intended to speak geographically. As has already been intimated, 
latitude, which is a prime factor in geography, is of exceedingly- 
small account as an indication of horticultural adaptations in Cali- 
fornia. The fact becomes strikingly apparent when it is known that 
the apple and the orange, fruit kings whose kingdoms lie at opposite 
borders of the temperate zone, so far distant that one may be called 
semi-frigid and the other semi-tropical, have in California utter dis- 
regard for the parallels of latitude, which set metes and bounds upon 
them in other lands, and flourish side by side, in suitable localities, 
from San Diego to Shasta. Impressive as this truth may be, it is 
not so startling as another fact, viz., that fruits, in suitable interior 
situations, ripen earlier at the north than in coast valleys at the 
south. Perhaps the first practical demonstration of this fact was 
by G. G. Briggs who went from Marysville to Ventura in 1861 
thinking to get earlier fruits for San Francisco market, as it was 



CALIFORNIA COAST CLIMATES 



13 



SO much farther south, and missed his calculation because they 
ripened later there than on his old place in the Sacramento valley. 

"That almost any extreme of weather," says Professor McAdie 
in his publication just cited, "can be found within the limits of Cali- 
fornia is readily comprehensible when it is considered that the state 
is 800 miles in length, contains a hundred million acres, and varies 
from deserts as much 280 feet below the sea to Shasta 14,380 feet, or 
the High Sierra, where 66 peaks exceed 10,000 feet in height, while 
40 exceed 13,000 feet, and Mount Whitney rises to 14,502 feet." 

It is apparent, then, in view of such diverity, that the selection of 
locations for orchards must be made with a knowledge of special 
conditions governing the distribution of equal temperatures and 
other natural agencies contributing to the development of fruit. 
This distribution, as has been intimated, is not by parallels of lati- 
tude, great circles which appear as straight lines on a map, but by 
curves, which proceed in various directions, governed chiefly by 
topography. These are curves of temperature, of rainfall, of eleva- 
tion, of soil formation and deposit. Geography must be interpreted 
by topography and climatography. 

Let these ruling conditions be reviewed, then, briefly: First, as 
to general areas ; second, with reference to special situations and 
locations. 

COAST CLIMATE 

The chief characteristics of the coast are equable temperature, 
increasing southward ; summers cool and winters warm, as com- 
pared with the interior; abundant rainfall, decreasing considerably 
southward ; a somewhat humid atmosphere, as compared with the 
interior ; frequent fogs or overcast skies ; prevailing westerly winds. 

The extension of coast influence toward the interior is governed 
by local topography. Coast valleys open to ocean winds are cooler 
and moister and demand hardier fruits than valleys sheltered by 
intervening ranges. Gaps and passes in the ranges are subject to 
winds of considerable force and low temperature, and are not gener- 
ally favorable for fruit; on the other hand, situations sheltered on 
the north and west favor growth of fruits even though quite near 
the coast. Sometimes a distance of a few miles, sometimes a wind- 
break or natural forest, or of planted trees, so modifies coast in- 
fluences that fruits do well. Elevation on the sides of coast valleys 
secures similar results. For example, the floor of the Pajaro Valley 
is well suited for apples, late pears, cherries, plums, prunes, and 
berries (except gooseberries), while on adjacent hillsides peaches 
do well. 

In Southern California, coast winds are warmer than in the upper 
half of the State, but coast influences intrude farther, as a rule, 
because the hills near the coast in Southern California are low ; the 
high ranges, answering to the Coast Range of the upper part of the 
State, trending far into the interior. On the coast side of these 
rianges fruits ripen later than in sheltered interior points in the 
upper part of the State, but eastward of the mountains, where soil 



J^4 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

and moisture favor, or irrigation is practised, extra early locations 
have been found and are now being rapidly developed — in the Im- 
perial and adjacent valleys, for instance. 

Some of the horticultural effects of the conditions prevailing on 
the coast may be described as follows : 

Late Ripening of Fruits. — The late ripening of fruits west of the 
mountains in Southern California has just been mentioned. Intru- 
sion of coast influences has the same effect in more marked degree 
at the north because the ocean winds are colder. Directly on the 
coast, at Pescadero, San Mateo County, for example, fruits ripen 
about a month later than in Santa Clara Valley, which is just across 
the Coast Range. Napa Valley, though about forty miles inland 
and sheltered by ranges of hills, still is sufficiently affected by the 
coast influences to mature fruits considerably later than Vaca 
Valley, ten or fifteen miles further east, beyond a higher range, 
which completely bars out these influences. Similar local effects 
are found in Southern California. For instance, in Ventura County, 
in a canyon sixteen miles from the ocean, and at an elevation of six- 
teen hundred feet, fruits ripen three weeks earlier than on the coast 
or in the valleys opening thereon. 

Failure of Certain Fruits. — Though killing frosts are few directly 
on the coast, the deficiency in summer heat and sunshine renders 
some fruits unsatisfactory. This is especially the case in the upper 
coast region. Grapes and figs ripen imperfectly, while but a short 
distance back from the coast, in situations sheltered by ridges 
parallel to the coast, they do well. Elevation sometimes produces 
corresponding effects. 

Pest and Diseases. — Certain blights are more prevalent under 
coast conditions. The scab bhght of the apple, the curl-leaf of the 
peach, and some other bHghts, are prevalent on the coast and in 
coast valleys, on the river bottoms in the interior, and on the moun- 
tains, and less serious, or wholly absent, in the hot interior valleys. 
Some insects prefer the coast but thrive also in the interior, as hot 
dry wind is excluded by dense growth of the tree and the included 
air becomes moister above irrigated soil. A notable instance is the 
black scale, which, with the black smut which attends it, has long 
been a grievous pest of growers of olives and citrus fruits, and has 
recently became prevalent on deciduous fruit trees in some regions. 
On the other hand, in the face of ocean winds the codlin moth seems 
to have less chance to fill pears and apples with her destructive 
offspring than she ejoys in interior valleys and mountain regions. 
Directly under coast influences, moss and lichens gather quickly 
and should be removed. Spraying with alkaline washes not only 
kills insects but cleans the bark from parasitic vegetable growth. 
Although fruit trees on the coast are not so subject to sunburn as 
in the interior, there is especial value in low heading to withstand 
winds; there should also be plenty of room given the trees, that 
sunshine may have free access to warm the ground all around the 
tree, which may be undesirable in the interior. 



INTERIOR CLIMATES OF CALIFORNIA 15 

VALLEY CLIMATE 

The characteristics of the interior valley climate are higher 
summer and lower winter temperatures than on the coast, the range 
of temperature being nearly the same both north and south ; rain- 
fall abundant in the north and decreasing rapidly southward, so that 
as a rule the interior valleys in the south half of the State require 
irrigation ; very dry air and almost constant sunshine, freedom from 
fogs and from dew in summertime ; winds occasionally strong, hot, 
and desiccating in summer and cold in winter. 

Local Modifications. — The term "valley climate" is broad, and 
includes everything away from the coast to a certain elevation on 
the slope of the mountains. Certain small valleys protected from 
cold northerly winds and from fog-bearing westerly winds and open 
to the spring sunshine, have a forcing climate which produces the 
earliest maturing fruit of the season ; earlier not only than the coast 
and the mountain, as has been stated, but also somewhat earlier than 
adjacent locations in the broad, open valley. Slight elevation, even 
on the sides of small valleys, frequently secures freedom from winter 
frosts and ministers to early ripening. Elevation above sea-level on 
the rims of great valleys also secures similar results and gives rise 
to thermal belts in which semi-tropical fruits are successfully grow- 
ing even as far north as Shasta County. On the floors of great 
valleys moderating influences are secured on the lee side of wide 
rivers and by planting on the river bank or on slightly elevated 
swells rather than on the level, open plain. The river bottom lands 
of the great valleys, though subject to severe frosts, are freer from 
the effects of desiccating winds than the open plains; they are, how- 
ever, more favorable to the spread of certain blights than the plains. 

Some of the horticultural effects of valley conditions are as fol- 
lows : Early ripening and perfection of summer and autumn fruits, 
owing to continual sunshine and dry air ; forced maturity of certain 
fruits, as apples for instance, which destroys character and keeping 
quality ; injury from sunburn and hot winds in summer, which seri- 
ously affect both fruit and foliage of some varieties ; occasional 
injury to tender fruits (semi-tropicals) and to young trees of hardy 
fruits, which have been kept growing late in the season, from low 
temperature, which sometimes is reached suddenly on the floor of 
the valleys ; freedom from some blights and insects which are pre- 
valent on the coast, but not from others. Many of these minor 
troubles are, however, counterbalanced by the earliness, size, beauty, 
and quality of certain fruits, and by the most rapid and successful 
open-air drying of fruits, owing to high autumn temperature, the 
freedom from summer fog, dew and generally from rain during the 
drying season. 

FOOTHILL CLIMATE 

Foothill climate is usulaly considered as a modification of valley 
climate. It has been shown that up to about two thousand five 
hundred feet, on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, the seasonal 



15 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

temperatures are quite like those of the valley, but the fainfall in- 
creases about one inch for each hundred feet of elevation. There 
are, however, in the foothills, places where early spring heat and 
freedom from frost give very early ripening fruits, and other places 
at the same elevation where winter temperature drops below the 
valley minimum, and where late frosts also prevail. This is gov- 
erned by local topography. In many of the small valleys among the 
foothills, both of the Sierra Nevada and the Coast ranges, frosts are 
more severe than on the hills adjacent or in the broader valleys to 
which they are tributary. These small "protected valleys" are 
apparently warm and cozy for early blooming deciduous and citrus 
fruits, but they are really very dangerous. They frequently have 
such narrow and obstructed openings that cold air is dammed up 
over their lower lands and frosts are more severe and later than in 
valleys which have ample and free outlets and seem less protected. 
Of course the disposition of cold air to settle in low places and 
to flow down canyons and creek-beds while the warm air rises and 
bathes the adjacent hillsides, has much to do with the frost in the 
hollow and the freedom from it on the hills. The constant motion 
of the air on the slopes is also a preventive of frost, providing the 
general temperature is not too low. It is not uncommon to find in 
deeper valleys, protected against the westtern wind, flakes of snow 
and a wintry chill, with dormant vegetation, while one thousand feet 
higher up the foliage is fast developing. 

MOUNTAIN CLIMATE 

Above an elevation of two thousand five hundred to three thou- 
sand feet, conditions gradually intrude which resemble those of 
wintry climates. The tender fruits, the apricot, peach, etc., become 
liable to winter injury and give irregular returns, or as greater 
elevation is attained, become wholly untrustworthy. Early bloom- 
ing of these fruits during warm spells which are followed by severe 
frosts, renders the trees unfruitful. At four thousand to four thou- 
sand five hundred feet the hardy apple and pear flourish, ripening 
late, and winter varieties possessing excellent keeping qualities. 
Here, however, winter killing of trees begins and locations even for 
hardy fruits have to be chosen with circumspection. 

There are elevated tracts of large extent among the Sierras where 
the common wild plum, choke-cherry, gooseberry, and California 
chestnut are produced abundantly. April frosts have killed the fruit 
of those same plums, transplanted to lower ground, while those left 
in their natural situation were quite unharmed. It has been ob- 
served that these plum trees with other fruits and nuts in their 
original positions, invariably occupy the broad tops of the great 
ridges instead of the sides and bottoms of ravines or narrow, pent-up 
valleys. Follow nature in the choice of orchard sites (with due 
regard to a supply of moisture in the soil, either natural or artificial) 
and little hazard attends the culture of the hardier fruits among 
the highlands of the State. The beauty and quality of these moun- 
tain fruits are proverbial. 



AUTUMN COLORS NOT DUE TO FROST 17 

A RULE OF GENERAL APPLICATION 

What has thus been suggested of the great variation of temper- 
ature conditions within narrow limits should lead to the conclusion 
that not only must the kind of fruit to plant be determined by local 
observation and experience, but often varieties of these fruits must 
be chosen with reference to adaptation to local environment. For 
this reason it is impossible to compile tables of varieties suited for 
wide areas — and yet it is true that some varieties have shown them- 
selves hardy and satisfactory under all conditions. These facts will 
be shown by the discussion which will be given to each of the dif- 
ferent fruits. 

REST AND ACTIVITY OF FRUIT TREES 

Indication has already been made of regions adapted to the 
growth of early and of late fruits. There is, of course, difference 
in time of rest and of returning activity in blooming. On the 
mountains under wintry conditions the trees leaf out and bloom 
late, following more or less the habit of Eastern trees. In the foot- 
hills, the valleys, and the coast, there is less difference in time of 
rest and of leaf and bloom. Even in regions where there may be a 
month's difference in ripening of fruit, as, for example, in the Vaca- 
ville district, fifty miles inland, and in Berkeley, two miles from the 
bay shore, trees bloom almost at the same date. The difference in 
ripening is due to the higher temperature and fuller sunshine of the 
interior situation, which have a forcing effect, while the lower tem- 
perature and dull skies of the summer on the coast retard maturity. 

The rest of the tree, in all save the mountain district, is not 
dependent upon the touch of frost. It comes rather from thirst 
than from cold. The immense weight of fruit, the vigorous growth 
of wood, and the exhaustion of moisture from the soil by the draught 
of the roots to compass this growth, are the chief causes which bring' 
the sere and yellow leaf in California. It is not frost, for the petunias 
may be blooming and the tomato vines still green in the fields. But 
the time has come for a rest. The trees sleep ; but merely as a nap 
at midday ; the early rains wake them soon. The roots are active 
first, then the buds swell, and the blossoms burst forth — sometimes 
as early as January — the almond tree first heralding the advent of 
California's springtime. 

Sometimes this season of rest is too short for the good of the tree 
or vine. The early rains, when followed by a spring-like temper- 
ature, as sometimes happens, induce activity in the top as well as 
the root, and the tree is not in condition to withstand cold weather, 
which may follow. It is probable that such stimulated activity, 
suddenly checked, is responsible for more ills to tree and vine than 
are usually attributed to it. Both to insure hardiness and fruitful- 
ness it is important that a tree shall have summer moisture enough 
to finish its late summer and early autumn growth-processes. Refer- 
ence to this important matter is made in the chapter on irrigation. 



CHAPTER II 

WHY THE CALIFORNIA CLIMATE FAVORS THE 
GROWTH OF FRUIT 

It is pointed out by the earliest students of meteorology, as 
related to horticulture, that perfect development of fruits depends 
upon certain atmospheric conditions, which are included in the term 
climate : First, temperature ; second, light ; third, humidity or at- 
mospheric moisture, — considered wholly apart from soil moisture. 
It was also shown that temperature and humidity should be equable, 
or as free as possible from excessive extremes or rapid changes. 

Obviously, the chief characteristics of the California climate are : 
First, freedom from extremes of low temperature ; second, an abun- 
dance of sunshine ; and third, atmosphere with a low percentage of 
humidity. It will be interesting to introduce enough statistics to 
demonstrate these claims, and to cite reasons why these conditions 
are of special value to the fruit grower.* 

THE OFFICE OF HEAT IN FRUIT PRODUCTION 

Temperature conditions may preclude the success of a fruit tree 
either by destroying it outright, by dwarfing it, or by preventing it 
from setting or ripening its fruit. Extremes of temperature accom- 
pHsh the death of plants, and insufficient or excessive mean temper- 
atures may prevent fruition without killing the plant. The first 
quality of the California climate to arrest the attention of fruit 
growers in the states east of the Rocky Mountains is the freedom 
from the effects of the extremely low winter temperature, to which 
is due the deplorable failure, in the eastern and western states, of 
many of the fruit varieties from the west of Europe, and to escape 
which such zealous efforts are now being so successfully put forth to 
secure hardy varieites of native and foreign origin. 

How slight is the injury from low temperatures in all parts of 
the State where fruit is largely grown may be seen from the follow- 
ing compilation of extreme low temperatures at different points 
approximately at the same latitude on the coast, in the interior 
valleys, and on the foot-hills. 

Lowest Temperature at Several California Points 

Coast and Coast Deg. above Deg. above Deg. above 

Valleys — zero. Interior Valleys — zero. Foothills — zero. 

Eureka 20 Redding 18 

Ukiah 12 Red Bluff 18 Oroville 15 

Cloverdale 17 Oroville 15 Nevada City 4 

Napa 18 Marysville 19 Colfax 8 

San Francisco 28 Sacramento 19 Auburn 12 

San Jose 18 Merced 16 Jackson 10 

Gilroy 20 Fresno 20 

*Other horticultural aspects of California climates are presented in the author's other 
books, viz.: "California Vegetables" and "California Garden Flowers." 



GOOD FRUIT REQUIRES ENOUGH HEAT 19 

Lowest Temperatures at Several California Points — Continued. 

San Miguel 11 Tulare City 18 Porterville 22 

Los Angeles 28 Colton 19 Redlands 25 

San Diego 32 Imperial 20 Riverside 21 

These records will show any one familiar with winter killing of 
the leading orchard fruits that such disasters are not to be feared 
in the chief fruit regions of California. Local temperature is largely- 
controlled by local conditions, as has already been pointed out, and 
in the districts named in the table there are special locations where 
the lowest temperature may have been a few degrees higher or lower 
than figures given. 

NECESSITY OF ADEQUATE SUMMER HEAT 

Passing beyond the freedom from winter killing it may be re- 
marked that the influences of certain degrees of heat upon the 
growth of the plant and the perfection of its fruit, has been the 
subject of much close observation. Boussingault conducted careful 
experiments, and showed that a temperature above a certain mini- 
mum of heat is found necessary for germination, another for 
chemical modification, and a third for flowering, a fourth for the 
ripening of seeds, a fifth for the elaboration of the saccharine juices, 
and a sixth for the development of aroma or bouquet. 

Originally the mean annual temperature was alone observed, and 
the polar limits of plants, it was presumed, could be thereby deter- 
mined. More recently it was taught that the mean temperature of 
seasons is of more importance than that of the year, and it is be- 
lieved that to the relative distribution of heat over the seasons 
rather than to the absolute amount received during the year, we are 
to attribute the fitness or unfitness of a region for the growth of 
certain kinds of vegetation. 

It is held in Europe that the mean heat of the cycle of vegetation 
of the vine must be at least 59 degrees Fahr., and that of the summer 
from 65 degrees to 66 degrees Fahr. It is stated to be impossible, 
for instance, to cultivate the vine upon the temperate tablelands of 
South America, where they enjoy a mean temperature of 62.6 de- 
grees to 66.2 degrees Fahr., because these climates are characterized 
by a constancy of temperature, never rising to the higher heats 
necessary to the process of sugar forming ; and the vine grows and 
flourishes, but the grapes never become thoroughly ripe. Boussin- 
gault shows that, in addition to a summer and autumn sufficiently 
hot, it is indispensable that at a given period — that which follows 
the appearance of seeds — there should be a month the mean temper- 
ature of which does not fall below 66.2 degrees Fahr. As will appear 
presently, this temperature test should not be taken alone, but it 
will serve as a standard to show one feature of the horticultural 
adaptation of the California climate. Boussingault claims the need 
of 66.2 degrees Fahr. for a single month. To be sure to include this, 
the accompanying table gives the average summer temperature at 
the leading fruit-growing centers named. 



20 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Average Summer Temperature at Various California Points 

Coast and Coast Eleva- Deg. 

Valleys — Deg. F. Interior Valleys — Dejj. F. Foothills — tion. F. 

Upper Lake 86 Redding 80 Auburn 1,363 75 

Napa 65 Oroville 79 Colfax 2,241 76 

Livermore 69 Marysville 78 Georgetown 2,700 85 

San Jose 67 Sacramento 12 Caliente 1,290 82 

Hollister 66 Merced 79 Fall Brook.., 700 68 

Santa Barbara ...65 Fresno 79 Redlands 1,352 17 

Los Angeles .... 70 Tulare 78 San Bernardino . . . 1,054 74 

San Diego 68 Riverside IZ San Jacinto 1,550 74 

These points are selected because the European varieties of the 
grape reach perfection in their vicinity. The excess of heat above 
that required, as is found in all the interior points mentioned in the 
table, results in a very high sugar percentage in the grapes, and 
contributes to the ripening of a second and third crop, as will be 
noted presently. The superior length of the growing season in 
California, of course, is an important agency toward the same end. 



DIRECT SUNLIGHT ALSO A REQUISITE 

Count de Gasparin was first to point out that not alone sufiEicient 
heat, but abundance of continuous sunshine, is a requisite of perfec- 
tion in fruit growing and ripening, and on his authority may be 
based a claim of exceptional value to the fruit grower in the months 
of cloudless skies which are characteristic of the California summer. 

"The solar rays," says Gasparin, "do not only produce heat, 
but bring us light, and the effects of the heat and light rays differ 
in a very pronounced manner. Without light there is no fructifica- 
tion ; it is not necessary that the want of light should be complete 
that there should be a failure of fruits. In fact, diffused light alone 
doesn ot suffice for the greater number of plants ; cultivated plants 
will not ripen their seed without the direct rays of sun, and the 
longer they are deprived of it the smaller the quantity which they 
will mature."* 

Again referring to the grape, for in connection with the growth 
of this fruit the most careful researches have been made, Humboldt 
wrote : "If to give a potable wine the vine shuns the islands and 
nearly all seacoasts, even those of the West, the cause is not only in 
the moderate heat of summer upon the seashore, but it exists more 
in the difference which there is between direct and diffused light; 
between a clear sky, and one veiled with clouds. "f 

The advantage of California over Eastern and Southern fruit 
regions in the abundance of clear sunshine is shown in the table 
below. Cloudiness is rated from to 10, three observations daily, 
and the figures in the table are the averages from these daily ob- 
servations, for a series of years, compiled from the records of the 
U. S. Weather Bureau. 



*Cours d' Agriculture, t. II, p. 96. 
tCosmos, t. I, p. 349. 



CLEAR SUNSHINE PERFECTS FRUITS 21 

Normal Cloudiness at California and Eastern Points 



California — Mar. 

Red Bluflf 4.4 

Sacramento 3.9 

San Francisco 4.8 

Fresno 4.3 

San Diego 4.8 

Eastern — 

Rochester, N. Y 6.6 

New York, N. Y 5.5 

Philadelphia, Pa 5.6 

Baltimore, Md 5.4 

Cleveland, Ohio 6.4 

Grand Haven. Mich.. 6.2 

Jacksonville, Fla 4.2 

New Orleans, La. ... 4.8 

















AvK. for 


April 


May 


June 


July 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


9 mo. 


4.2 


3.6 


1.9 


1.0 


0.7 


1.3 


2.4 


3.4 


2.5 


3.5 


2.7 


1.5 


0.5 


0.4 


1.1 


2.0 


2.8 


2.0 


4.3 


4.2 


3.8 


4.3 


4.3 


3.5 


3.Z 


3.8 


4.0 


2.9 


2.7 


1.5 


0.7 


0.9 


1.4 


2.2 


2.8 


2.2 


4.4 


5.3 


4.8 


4.3 


3.9 


ZJ 


3.8 


Z.i 


4.3 


5.4 


5.2 


4.9 


4.6 


4.6 


4.9 


6.0 


7.6 


5.5 


5.3 


5.2 


4.9 


5.0 


4.9 


4.7 


4.9 


5.2 


5.1 


5.4 


5.1 


5.0 


5.0 


4.9 


4.8 


4.7 


5.2 


5.1 


5.1 


5.1 


4.9 


4.8 


4.9 


4.7 


4.6 


4.9 


4.9 


5.3 


4.9 


4.6 


4.3 


4.3 


4.9 


5.7 


7.?, 


5.3 


5.4 


4.8 


4.6 


3.8 


4.0 


4.4 


5.6 


7.5 


5.1 


4.1 


4.1 


5.1 


4.8 


4.9 


5.0 


4.2 


4.5 


4.5 


4.8 


4.3 


4.7 


4.9 


4.7 


4.3 


3.5 


4.5 


4.5 



It is noticeable that at the California coast points the average 
cloudiness is almost twice that of the interior valleys, while in the 
East the interior fruit regions of Western New York, Ohio, and 
Michigan, have a greater average cloudiness than the Hudson 
River, New Jersey, and Delaware regions near the Atlantic sea- 
board. The average cloudiness in the Eastern fruit regions is rather 
more than twive as grat as in the regions of California where most 
fruit is grown. 

This excess of advantage, as it may be trmed, in connection 
with the high and protracted heat already mentioned, takes practi- 
cal form in the successful ripening of a second and simetimes a 
third crop of these grapes in a season, from later bloom on younger 
cane growth. This behavior is of more value as a demonstration of 
climatic conditions than otherwise, for it is generally better to pro- 
duce the main crop alone than to undertake later ones. 

Another indication of excess of advantage in the interior valley 
is found in the development of high sugar contents, which is of 
direct value in raisin production. The same tendency, though per- 
haps of less commercial value, is seen in the fact that some grapes 
which yield a good claret wine nearer the coast develop too much 
alcohol when grown in the interior. 



RELATION OF ATMOSHERIC HUMIDITY TO THE 
GROWTH OF TREES 

There is another important condition of the climate of California 
which is intimately related to those which have been considered, 
and which is to be credited with no small influence in the perfection 
of our fruits, and that is the low percentage of humidity which our 
atmosphere contains. In California the percentage of humidity is 
high in the winter and low in the summer ; in the East the condi- 
tion is just reversed. For this reason summer heat is far more op- 
pressive in the East than in California, and for the same reason cer- 
tain serious fungoid diseases, which prevail at the East, though 
found here in less injurious degree directly on the coast, may be 



22 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

wholly unknown in the interior where the air is drier. The dry air 
also favors the access and action of light and heat, for Tyndall says 
that a sheet of vapor acts as a screen to the earth, being in a great 
measure impervious to heat. 

It is not necessary, then, that there should be clouds to lessen the 
chemical effects of sun heat in fruit ripening. Not only do clouds 
intercept sunshine, but water vapor in the air — when to the eye the 
sun is bright as ever — can absorb a large quantity of the effective 
sun rays, and so retard fruit ripening. Hence an apparently sunny 
country which has much invisible vapor in the air, may prove de- 
fective in fruit-ripening qualities. 

It is true that air free from humidity allows rapid escape of heat 
by radiation as well as free access of it, and in the dry air frost is 
more severe, but at the time of the greatest fruit growth, from June 
to October, radiation down to a frost point is prevented by other 
natural agencies. In the early spring and late autumn the humidity 
percentage rises again and checks radiation just at the time of the 
year when it is most desirable to have it checked. 

The accompanying table, compiled from the records of the United 
States Weather Bureau, show^s the prevailing relative humidity in 
the East and South and in California. 

Normal Relative Humidity at Eastern and California Points 

Eastern Stations — April 

Jacksonville, Fla 72.3 

Philadelphia, Pa 63.4 

Rochester, N. Y 67.8 

Grand Haven, Mich 70.9 

St. Louis, Mo 63.7 

New Orleans, La 76.0 

Galveston, Tex 84.6 

California Stations — 

Los Angeles 73.1 

Fresno 59.3 

Sacramento 67.6 

Red Blufif 61.9 















Avg. for 


May 


June 


Tulv 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


8 mo. 


73 


n.(^ 


78.6 


80.9 


82.9 


79.8 


82.2 


78.4 


68 9 


69,2 


68.6 


71.2 


75.2 


70.7 


73.6 


70.1 


68 6 


69 1 


67.3 


70.7 


75.2 


75.6 


76.2 


71.3 


71 4 


73,7 


69.0 


73.1 


75.0 


75.7 


79.1 


73.5 


67 8 


68 8 


66.3 


67.3 


70.2 


65.9 


71.1 


67.6 


74 2 


781 


78.3 


78.8 


77.3 


74.0 


79.4 


77.0 


78.0 


79.3 


77.4 


78.1 


77.2 


75.6 


80.4 


78.8 


75? 


73,0 


75.4 


76.2 


72.9 


74.3 


66.6 


11.7 


^7.1 


4?„4 


34.7 


34.7 


43.6 


55.1 


64.1 


48.3 


67 6 


66 1 


.59.8 


59.8 


59.0 


62.4 


66.8 


63.6 


56.8 


43.7 


35.6 


35.3 


43.6 


51.6 


60.7 


48.6 



The three great advantages of the California climate — abundant 
heat, continuous sunshine, and dry air — taken in connection with 
the fitness of the soil and the great length of the growing season, in- 
sure the characteristic excellence of California fruit, and the early 
maturity, great growth, and abundant fruitage of our trees and 
vines. Heat, sunshine, dry air, and a rainless summer also minister 
directly to the curing of fruits in the open air. 

A RECAPITULATION OF CALIFORNIA'S CLIMATIC 

ENDOWMENT 

Through the multitude of local observations, which seem per- 
plexing and almost contradictory, it is possible to clearly discern 
certain general conditions of both nature and culture, which may be 
briefly advanced as characteristically and distinctively Californian. 



HOW THE PEACH GROWS IN CALIFORNIA 23 

Of these, perhaps the most striking is the length of the growing 
season. 

Take, for instance, the peach in a good peach region. The bloom 
may appear in February, followed by the grand foliage expanding 
to a leaf-size, marvelous to one unused to such peach leaves. The 
shoots of new growth rush out with vigor promised by such leaf; 
and yet the fruit below expands as though it would burst its skin 
in rapid enlargement — and still it grows. The new shoot, apparently 
weary of its several feet of extension, stops for a rest, and then, re- 
viving, starts out in its laterals — while still below the peach is grow- 
ing. The laterals push out a foot or more — all carrying large, fresh 
leaves. While these are in full vigor, the fruit ripens, after having a 
full year's joint work of root and foliage, if it is a lat evariety. Is it 
any wonder it weighs a pound? But still the tree is active. It forms 
its terminal buds, and then all along the new main shoots and their 
laterals are formed the leaf and blossom buds for the following year. 
Still the foliage holds green and active, if the moisture below be 
adequate, and the leaves seem loath to fall in the ninth month from 
time of blooming. Is it any wonder California peaches are large 
and the trees require pruning and thinning to enable them to carry 
the weight produced' in such a season of growth? And what has 
been said of the peach is true of other trees, according to their nature 
and habits. The trees themselves are more eloquent of California's 
conditions for growth than descriptions or statistical tables can be 
made. 

But the quality of the light and heat, if the term is admissible, 
is a factor as well as their duration. The air, relatively free, not 
alone from clouds, but from the insensible aqueous vapor which 
weakens sunshine in its effort to serve vegetation in a humid climate, 
has a clearness and brilliance from its aridity which makes each day 
of the long, growing season more than a day in other climates, and 
thus adds to the calendar length of the growing season. The surplus 
light and heat also act directly in the chemistry which proceeds in 
the tissues of the plant, and we have not only size, but quality, color, 
aroma — everything which makes the perfect fruit precious and beau- 
tiful beyond words. 

It is true that for long-distance shipments of fresh fruits it is not 
possible to allow this process to go too far, for its later efforts are 
higher sweetness, accompanied by such juiciness that the fruit can 
not endure transportation. But go to the tree to apply the only 
test which can fairly be put to a juicy fruit, and the demonstration 
of the service of clear, unobstructed sunshine through an adequate 
period is complete. But if this can not be done, place the judgment 
upon the mature peach carefully sun-dried and intelligently cooked, 
or upon the ripe peach skillfully canned, and the distinctive adapta- 
tions of California for fruit production will display themselves. 

But there are other agencies involved in the perfection of fruit 
than intensity and duration of light and heat. Without adequate 
moisture in the soil, the air which we have credited with such benign 
power in carrying heat and light for perfection of fruit would trans- 
mit the same as agencies for the destruction of the tree which bears 



24 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

it. If this moisture comes from rainfall, it descends at the time of 
the year when the tree is least active, consequently is least retarded 
by a clouded sky and moisture-laden air, and least affected by atmos- 
pheric disturbances. Strong storm winds find the tree with reefed 
sails, and able to endure pressure which would tear it to pieces if 
they came upon its grand spread of foliage on branches heavy with 
fruit. It is a priceless horticultural endowment that no tornado can 
pierce our protecting mountain-barriers, and that it is exceedingly 
rare that our local winds disturb the confident swaying of the 
branches and leaf movement beyond the activity which ministers to 
the sap flow. And if the adequate moisture is not from rainstorms, 
but by irrigation, the same facts remain, for the water reaches the 
tree without interrupting its aerial activity. Temperature is main- 
tained, light is unobstructed, and the tree is refreshed with moisture 
without the chill and cloud-shade which favor fungoid parasites. Of 
all the ways by which moisture could come to soils supporting fruit 
tree or vine, the natural by its time, and the artificial by its method, 
endow California with the best. 

The characteristics of the California climate which have been 
especially pointed out in this sketch are not propitious to fruit 
culture when they exist to excessive degree, as in some interior or 
continental climates. Local conditions of altitude, distance from the 
sea, and exposure to the sweep of arctic winds, induce sudden and 
great weather changes which are serious in their effects. Excess- 
ively low percentage of atmospheric humidity, in connection with 
desiccating wind, often produce greater evaporation from the leaves 
than the roots can supply. Excessively dry air admits a parching 
sun heat at one time, and at another facilitates radiation of heat, 
until the rapid decline in temperature makes killing frosts frequent. 
It is evident that California has these agencies constantly held in 
check by her insular situation and protecting environment, and owes 
her wonderful adaptation to growth of tree and perfection of fruit 
not more to the possession of certain conditions than to the fact of 
their existence in moderation. 



CHAPTER III 

THE FRUIT SOILS OF CALIFORNIA 

The favoring characteristics of the California climates, which 
have been described, find their fitting complement in the adaptation 
of the California soils to the perfect development of fruit-bearing 
tree and vine. In their wonderful variety and consequent great 
range of special adaptations within narrow limits of area our soils 
also resemble our climates. As a man may sometimes find within 
the boundaries of an ordinary-sized farm such a difference of at- 
mospheric conditions that the same fruit will thrive in one spot and 
not in another, so he may find differences in soil which will tend to 
produce the same results. For this reason the precise spot in which 
to plant any given fruit must be chosen with regard to both soil and 
exposure. In the chapters devoted to the several fruits, there will 
be an attempt made to describe the soil requirements of each, so that 
the inexperienced planter may not err seriously in choosing the loca- 
tion for each kind of fruit he desires to grow. While this is true, it 
will also appear in these special chapters that the choice of roots 
upon which to bud or graft gives the planter a certain latitude and 
independence. This is of the greatest value in the planting of home 
orchards, or orchards for local markets, in regions where the soil is 
not what is usually preferred for fruit production. With proper 
choice of stocks and wisdom and diligence in cultivation, one need 
hardly despair of growing good fruit on soil which will support any 
laudable plant growth. 

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF CALIFORNIA SOILS 

One of the most interesting and important recent achievements 
in soil investigation consists in demonstrating distinctive dififerences 
between soils formed under arid and under humid climate condi- 
tions. In the development of this subject certain distinctive char- 
acters of California soils clearly appear, and they are of direct 
relation to the thrift, productiveness, treatment, and longevity of 
fruit trees. These characters are: (a) lightness and consequent 
permeability and ease of cultivation; (b) depth, admitting excep- 
tional root extension and penetration; and (c) richness, containing 
some kinds of plant food in considerably greater amounts than are 
found in the soils of humid regions. These characteristics, as demon- 
strated by Prof. Hilgard,* may be outlined in this way with special 
reference to their relations to fruit growing. 

Lightness. — California soils predominately exhibit the sandy, 
silty or pulverulent nature of all soils formed under arid conditions, 
save in case of pre-existing clay formations of former geological 

..'F^of. E. W. Hilgard's studies of California soils are summarized in his book on "Soils." 
pubhshed by The Macmillan Co.. N. Y. 



26 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



epochs, as well as slack-water deposits of the present epoch, all of 
which are substantially independent of climate. While "sand" in 
the humid regions means virtually quartz grains only, in the arid 
country it means very largely grains and powder of the other soil- 
forming minerals as well. While, therefore, in the humid region 
sandy land as a rule means poor land, in the arid, on the contrary, 
sandy lands are at least as desirable as heavier ones, both on the 
score of high productiveness, durability, and ease of cultivation, 
together with ready resistance to drouth. 

Depth. — Another point of great importance is that the difference 
between soil and suboil, which is so striking and important in 
regions of abundant rainfall, is largely obliterated in arid climates. 
Very commonly hardly a perceptible change oi tint or texture is 
found for depths of several feet ; and vv^hat is more important, 
material from such depths, when thrown on the surface, oftentimes 
subserves the agricultural uses of a soil nearly or quite as well as 
the original surface soil. The unconcern with which irrigators pro- 
ceed to level or otherwise grade their land, even though this may 
involve covering up large areas of surface soil with subsoil from 
several feet depth ; the rapidity with which the red loam of the 
placer mines of the Sierra Nevada foothills is re-covered with the 
natural forest growth of the region, etc., are examples familiar to 
the residents but surprising to newcomers, who are accusomed to 
dread the upturning of the subsoil as likely to deprive them of re- 
munerative crops for several years, until the "raw" subsoil has had 
time to be "vitalized" by the fallowing effect of the atmosphere, 
and to acquire the needful amounts of organic matter or vegetable 
mold. Thus the surface soil, which in the humid regions supplies 
the bulk of the nourishment, becomes here of minor importance, 
serving chiefly as a mulch to prevent waste of moisture ; while the 
active process of nutrition occurs in the deeper portion of the soil 
stratum, whose composition, as well as condition of disintegration 
and aeration, is substantially the same as above. The second foot is 
rarely found to differ materially from the first, even as to content of 
organic matter ; for the latter, being almost exclusively derived from 
the decay of roots, the leaves and herbage on the surface being 
mostly oxidized away under the intense heat and abundant aeration 
of summer, it not uncommonly happens in very porous soils that the 
first six inches of surface soil are poorer in organic matter than the 
second foot. 

Practical Results of Lightness and Depth. — The "lightness" and 
perviousness of the prevailing soils of the arid region permit of the 
penetration of roots to depths which in the humid region are inac- 
cessible to them on account of the dense subsoils, which prevent the 
needful access of air. This deep penetration enables even annual 
plants to avail themselves directly of the stores of moisture in the 
substracta, at depths which in the humid region are scarcely reached 
save by the tap-roots of some prennials and trees ; while the latter 
themselves reach depth never approached by them in the region of 
summer rains. Professor Hilgard found the ends of the roots of 



RULING CHARACTERS OF CALIFORNIA SOILS 27 

grape-vines at a depth of twenty-three feet, in a gravelly clay-loam ; 
from ten to fifteen feet are ordinary depths reached by the root 
system of fruit trees. Even the roots of cereals have been found 
to penetrate to a depth of twelve feet in California sandy alluvial 
soils and to fourteen feet in loams. Such depth of rooting, when 
conservative of moisture is secured by proper surface cultivation, 
enables deciduous fruit trees to grow thriftily and bear fine fruit 
through six months of drouth while as many weeks of drouth may 
bring distress and loss of fruit to surface-rooting trees on the shallow 
soils of the humid region. Recent investigations at the California 
Agricultural Experiment Station have also disclosed that the good 
physical and chemical conditions of the deeper layers of our soils 
have also made possble the penetration from the surface layers, of 
various forms of micro-organisms upon which we are dependent not 
only for a solution of the insoluble plant food, but for the addition 
of nitrogen to the soil from the atmosphere. 

Richness. — The foregoing conditions are rendered the more sig- 
nificant and effective through the third characteristic of soils formed 
in arid climates. The average aggregate amounts of plant-food in- 
gredients are markedly greater in the arid than in the humid soils, 
wherever their derivation is at all generalized. Among the agricul- 
turally important ingredients contained in larger average amounts 
in the arid soils than in the humid, lime stands foremost ; its per- 
centage in soils not derived from calcareous formations being from 
twelve to fourteen times greater in the arid than in the humid soils. 
Magnesia follows lime in this respect, but the average diflFerence is 
only about half as great. The average content of potash in the arid 
soils exceeds that in the humid in about the proportion of one to 
three or four. But no such constant diflference exists in respect to 
phosphoric acid. As regards organic matter, and the nitrogen of 
which it is the carrier and reservoir, its amount is usually consider- 
ably less than in the humid soils ; but the total nitrogen percentage 
does not diflfer widely, because the organic matter of arid soils con- 
tains, on the average, from three to five times as much nitrogen as is 
in humid soils, and, therefore, the supply of soil nitrogen is very 
nearly the same in both regions, while from several causes, the nitro- 
gen of arid soils is more available to plants. 

Practical Lessons from the Constitution of Our Soils. — The ex- 
traordinary depth of our soils, which reveals a favorable physical, 
chemical, and biological nature, teaches the importance and essential 
nature of: (1) deep tillage; (2) deep incorporation of manures and 
fertilizers; (3) deep irrigation. It is clear that if we can make con- 
ditions just as congenial for the roots of plants in the lower layers 
of the soil as in the upper, there is but one course left open to us, 
namely : taking advantage of the opportunities afforded us by 
nature, if we would maintain the fertility of our soils. To do this 
we must encourage the deep rooting of our trees, and nothing in the 
line of soil management can accomplish the desired end so well as 
making available to the roots in the deeper soil layers, air, plant food 
and water by the methods above enumerated. 



23 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

CLASSIFICATION OF CALIFORNIA SOILS 

Any attempt to classify the soils of California upon scientific lines 
or evfen to describe them in their wonderful variety, according to 
their geographical occurrence, would lead beyond the limitations of 
at treatise upon the practice of fruit growing. Rather let an attempt 
be made to designate certain grades of soil with brief characteriza- 
tion of their leading features as they are related to the growth of 
fruits. By such a course it may be made to appear that though the 
soils of the State are predominantly light, deep and rich, and thus 
eminently fitted for fruit growing, there are many degrees in the 
possession of these characters or any of them, in local soils, and upon 
this individual manifestation they rate all the way from perfection 
to defectiveness. Let a classification proceed, then, upon a descend- 
ing scale. 

Light, Deep Loams. — Admixture of clay with enough coarse 
materials to secure permeability to air and water, ease in culvation, 
deep root penetration and free drainage of surplus water, produces 
soil of the highest adaptability to the growth of fruit trees and vines. 
These soils are popularly known as loams. They are designated as 
sandy loams, medium loams, and clay loams, according to the pro- 
portion of clay commingled with the sand or coarse materials. 

Professor Hilgard devised the following nomenclature of soils 
based upon their content of clay; sandy soils, less than 5 per cent of 
clay ; sandy loams, from 5 to 10 per cent ; ordinary or medium loams, 
from 10 to 15 per cent ; clay loams, from 15 to 20 per cent ; clay soils, 
from 20 to 50 per cent of clay. 

The coarse materials are sand grains of various sizes or rock par- 
ticles in various degrees of disintegration. The fine materials are 
clay and rock powder, commonly designated as fine silt. Loam soils 
may result from deposits by flowing water or may consist of debris 
but little removed from local rock disintegration. They include a 
wide variety of materials, but agree in the possession of striking 
adaptability to fruit culture. Some of the leading instances of such 
soils may be cited. 

Loams of the Valley Plains. — On the east side of the Sacramento 
Valley low ridges and swales at right angles to the river's course 
come in from the foothills, forming a gently undulating plain with a 
fall of from fifteen to twenty feet per mile, sometimes right up to 
the river channels. Nearly all the soils of the east side have a red- 
dish tinge, showing the admixture of the red foothill soil and demon- 
strating, by the way, that all these lands are well drained. In cuts 
ten to twelve feet deep, made by the sloughs, the reddish plains loam 
is seen to reach from six to ten feet in depth, being then underlaid by 
gravelly substrata. The width of this class of profusely fertile valley 
land, east and west, varies considerably, according to the meander- 
ings of the rivers. Away from the water courses, the higher lands 
of the valleys are largely red or yellow loams, sometimes clayey and 
difficult of cultivation unless taken just in the right condition, some- 
times gravelly and apt to dry out unless the natural water supply is 



CALIFORNIA VALLEY SOILS DESCRIBED 29 

supplemented by irrigation, but mostly a free-working, fairly re- 
tentive, light loam, very satisfactory for some kinds of fruits. 

The soils of the San Joaquin Valley have, as a rule, a much 
greater admixture of sand than those of the Sacramento Valley ; 
there is also a more distinct subdivision of the valley lands into up- 
land or "bench" lands, and lowland or alluvial lands proper. 

Upon the upland or plains soils, especially of Fresno and Tulare 
counties, wonderful progress in fruit-growing by irrigation has been 
made. Though its summer aspect is most forbidding and almost 
desert-like in lack of vegetation, the application of water has shown 
exceptional quickness of growth, early bearing, and lavish produc- 
tiveness of tree and vine. These plains loams vary in appearance, 
and are from this fact locally named, "reddish loam," "white ash," 
and "sand hill." All are distinctly calcareous. Even in the case 
of the latter, which is the lightest and made of almost 90 per cent 
of inert sand, it is so deep and has its plant food in such highly 
available condition that it is producing very large crops of fruits 
where there is no rise of the bottom water to prevent root penetra- 
tion. In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada there are some loose 
loams of light color resulting from the decomposition of granite, but 
they are as a rule inferior to the red foothill soils, which are more 
clayey, and will be mentioned among the clay loams later. 

The soils prevailing in the valley of Southern California, from 
Redlands at its head to Los Angeles at its opening out toward the 
sea, consist chiefly of granitic sand, which at some points on the 
slopes forms the soils exclusively, but everywhere constitutes a 
prominent ingredient of the valley and mesa lands. These mesa 
lands are conspicuous for their orange-red tint, and the red sandy 
loam of which they are composed, to depths varying from ten to as 
much as eighty feet, is evidently the choice soil for orange culture. 
It is manifest that at some remote epoch it filled the entire valley. 
Of the middle portion much has been washed away, but islands of 
it form red-land tracts of greater or less extent all over the region, 
traversed by and more or less commingled with the gigantic wash 
from the valleys and canyons of the Sierra Madre. The latter fre- 
quently consists largely of gravel, and were it not for the luxuriant 
natural vegetation borne by these gravel beds, few would have 
thought of devoting them to the costly experiment of orange plant- 
ing, which nevertheless, has proved eminently successful even on 
these unpromising-looking masses of debris. In the upper valley 
(San Bernardino Valley proper) the red loam is conspicuous, and 
gives its name to the flourishing city and citrus district of Redlands, 
on the terminal slope ; but the heavy flow of water from the upper 
canyons, notably from that of the Santa Ana River, has scoured it 
out of the valley itself, and left there, at least on the northern por- 
tion, gray and blackish granitic loams of great depth and produc- 
tiveness, underlaid, and therefore underdrained, by the enormous 
gravel beds that hold the artesian water of this favored region. 

The reddish mesa soils prevail through the smaller Southern Cali- 
fornia valleys as well, and are similar in character, as they are de- 
rived from similar geological formations. 



30 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Where the surface descends gradually to the seashore, and not in 
bluffs, there are as in Los Angeles and Orange counties, coast flats 
several miles in width, where the soil is a dark-colored sandy loam, 
glistening with scales of mica, and more or less affected with alkali 
in the lower portions. Similar soils are found in tracts of greater 
or less extent up the coast as far as Santa Barbara at least. As a 
rule, these seashore lands are very productive, but fruits for them 
must be chosen with reference to their low level and exposure to 
coast influences. 

The light loams of the so-called desert region of Southern Cali- 
fornia are not inferior in productive capacity to some of the best 
soils of the great valley, which they greatly resemble, save in the 
scarcity of vegetable matter. Only a detailed survey, however, can 
determine the tracts having an arable soil, as against those overrun- 
by arid sand. The soil of the Colorado River bottom is highly pro- 
ductive, easily worked, being quite light. It is a highly calcareous 
soil, and now, as the water of the Colorado River has been made 
available for irrigation, is yielding rich returns for cultivation. 

The valleys of the seaward slope of the Coast Range have mostly 
gray, light, and silty, rather than sandy soils, quite similar in ap- 
pearance, from Ventura to Humboldt county, though differing con- 
siderably in composition, those of the southern region being more 
calcareous, and apparently richer in phosphoric acid ; as the coast 
region consists for the most part of low ranges with intervening" 
valleys, the valleys are, as a rule, small, though a few show consid- 
erable area. In such a country the soil surface shows wide diversity 
with its smaller areas than on the vast stretches of the great interior 
valley ; consequently, so far as soil goes, the coast farms are often 
suited to a wider range of fruits than the interior valley farms of 
similar size. 



ALLUVIAL OR SEDIMENTARY LOAMS 

These soils have been considered from the earliest plantings by 
Americans as par excellence the fruit soils of the great valley of 
Central and Northern California. They occurr along the courses of 
existing streams, and extend back to variable distances, until they 
merge into the valley loams, or adobes. These deposits are consider- 
ably higher than the present beds of the streams, and are sometimes 
described as "next to river bottom." They consist of fine alluvium, 
with seldom any admixture of coarse materials. These river soils 
are usually very deep and they are naturally well drained. 

These deposits cross the valley in somewhat irregular courses; 
they are of greater or less width according to the drainage area 
whence they have come. They vary also in depth, and tapper down 
on either side to the level of the red loam or abode upon which they 
have been deposited. Such strips are first chosen by the fruit 
planters of the district in which they occur. In the valleys of the 
rivers crossing the eastern side of the San Joaquin Valley, there are, 
bordering the streams as well as Tulare Lake, considerable areas of 



CLAY AND CLAY LOAM SOILS 31 

brown to blackish loam varying from heavy to light, but for the most 
part easily tilled and exceedingly rich. Considerable fruit has been 
grown for years on these situations, and some kinds do well on these 
bottoms which do not show adaptation to the plains. Some even of 
the higher lying portions of these "black lands" support thrifty 
orchards without irrigation. The wider stretches of alluvial soils 
in the upper part of the valley, as in the Mussel Slough country and 
the Visalia region, for instance, are notably well adapted to fruit 
growing. The occasional intrusion of alkali, which must be care- 
fully avoided, is the chief obstacle to the general approval of these 
alluvial lands for fruit purposes. 

Soil of similar character is found in some small valleys consisting 
of an alluvial wash from the bordering hills which in some places 
reaches a depth of thirty feet or more without notable change in 
character. Such soils have proved very fertile and durable. 

The rich river bottom, adjacent to the beds of the main rivers 
and sloughs of the valley, has usually a dark, rich, and moist soil, 
easily tilled and not subject to baking and cracking. It is largely 
used for the growth of vegetables and alfalfa, but considerable areas 
have been planted with fruit trees, especially with pears, which do 
not suffer from submergence of their roots for considerable time. 

In the coast valleys of the State there are also very extensive 
areas of alluvial soils which are largely used in fruit production, as 
well as upland loams formed in place by the disintegration of local 
rock formations. The famous fruit region extending from Oakland 
southward nearly one hundred miles, including the Alameda and 
Santa Clara Valleys, has very large areas of alluvial soil, ranging 
from deep, rich blackish loams used for vegetables and small fruits 
to lighter loams resulting from intermixture of sediment brought 
by streams from adjacent hillsides with the clay of the valley 
bottom. It is to these deep, rich alluvial deposits that the region 
owes its great reputation in fruit lines. 



CLAY LOAMS 

Of loams containing sufficient clay to render them somewhat 
heavy and tenacious, there is also a great variety in California. 
Their suitability for different fruits depends upon selection of roots 
adapted to their character and upon the depth and degree of reten- 
tiveness of the soils themselves. They are more difficult of tillage 
than the free loams, but offer some sompensation therefor in their 
richness and durability. 

Clay Loams of the Foothills and Valley Border. — The soils of the 
foothills of the Sierra Nevada, throughout its courses along the great 
valley, vary from a moderately clayey loam to a heavy, though not 
uncommonly gravelly, often orange-red clay. This character seems 
to be sensibly the same, whether the soil be derived from the decom- 
position of the ancient slate bed-rock or directly from the dark- 
colored granites, thus creating a presumption that the two rocks are 



32 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



closely related. The soils are highly charged with iron to the extent 
of from seven to over twelve per cent, which being finely divided, 
imparts to them the intense orange-red tint. The soil of the foot- 
hills agree with the soils of the valley in having a good percentage 
of lime, while the supply of potash and phosphates, as well as of 
organic matter, is smaller, and sometimes low, though never ap- 
parently inadequate for present productiveness, in the presence of 
so much lime. 

Along the base of the foothills of the Sierra there is in Fresno, 
Tulare, and part of Kern country, a narrow belt, irregular in width, 
of partly red and partly black clay or adobe, so highly calcareous 
as to break up, when dry, into small fragments, producing a con- 
dition that has received the name "dry bog." It is upon this that 
many of the citrus orchards of the Porterville and Mt. Campbell 
districts are chiefly grown. A white, calcareous marl sometimes 
occurs beneath this soil at varying depths, inducing chlorosis or 
yellowing of citrus leaves, owing to its impervious nature which 
does not allow of good drainage and therefore kills the roots through 
suffocation and acid production. Westward of this "dry bog" land 
there is a belt of reddish or brown loam soils, corresponding to those 
similarly located in the Sacramento Valley, but generally more 
clayey, and hence frequently designated as adobe by contrast with 
the very sandy soils of the valley at large, although properly they 
should be classed simply as clayey loams. This belt is eigth to ten 
miles wide in middle Tulare county and narrows to the north and 
south. Here these lands have a gentle slope of ten to twenty feet 
per mile from the base of the foothills, and appear to be underlaid 
at a depth of twelve to fifteen feet by water-bearing gravel. The 
soil is a reddish, more or less sandy, loam, changing little in its 
aspect for several feet. Its adaptation to fruit is shown by the prod- 
ucts of the Lindsay region. 



CLAY SOILS 

Thus far a very small area of true adobe* soil has been employed 
in horticulture. There is a great difference in the character of what 
is known as adobe in different localities. Its color varies, as the 
popular terms "black waxy," "black," "brown," and "gray" adobe 
indicate. Its physical condition and chemical composition also 
vary greatly. The black adobe of the east side of the Sacramento 
Valley is easily tilled as compared with the gray adobe on the west 
side, which is very refractory and often largely impregnated with 
alkali. To render soil of adobe character useful for fruit growing, 
this tendency to dry out and crack, thus allowing evaporation from 
below as well as from the surface, must be overcome. The discussion 
of this point belongs to the chapter on cultivation. Adobe soils are, 
as a rule, rich and durable and therefore promise long fruitfulness 

*This name has been erroneously applied to the loam commonly used in the construction 
of abode houses. Agriculturally, it means "a heavy clay soil," such as could not be used in 
building. 






^W'. . ':^ 

















o 

6C 



TREATMENT FOR DEFECTIVE SOILS 33 

to trees and vines with roots adapted to heavy soils, but difficulty of 
cultivation, excessive retention of water, and other evils are always 
present. 

DEFECTIVE SOILS 

Although California soils are predominantly of the depth, light- 
ness and richness best suited to the growth and bearing of fruit 
trees and vines, it should always be borne in mind that there are 
marked exceptions, and failure to observe this fact has resulted in 
considerable disappointment and loss. There is in California much 
land which is bad from a horticultural point of view and it is apt to 
occur even in the vicinity of lands of the highest excellence. It is, 
therefore, necessary to advise that the closest examination, to be 
made before investment, be made in the planting of fruits. 

Although there are instances of deficiency in plant food in Cali- 
fornia soils and considerable areas of land sterile through excess of 
saline and alkaline salts, these are usually indicated by the local 
reputation of the tracts, if the newcomer will take pains to make 
inquiry. It is rather the more obscure, subsoil conditions which lead 
to loss or failure, and they may be unknown even to men who have 
owned or farmed the land for years for ordinary field crops. These 
defects are, in the main, three : 

Leachy Subsoils. — While it is best in all cases to choose deep 
soils for cropping purposes, it is frequently profitable to grow fruit 
on soils with defective subsoils. Among these defective subsoils 
there is frequently encountered, underlying good alluvial loams, a 
very pervious sand or gravel which allows of a too rapid escape of 
moisture and plant food. This may result in starving the tree or 
killing it for want of water. Under such circumstances it is possible 
with three or four feet of good loam above the gravel to maintain 
profitably the shallow rooted trees by practicing heavy green 
manuring and constant summer cultivation to conserve what mois- 
ture the loam retains and by recourse to irrigation, when required. 

Hardpan. — It has frequently been observed that even where 
hardpan has been blasted prior to tree planting, the evil effects of 
waterlogging in a rather retentive overlying soil have either killed 
trees or made them unprofitable. This condition occurs not only on 
level land but also on rather steep hillsides where on a priori con- 
siderations it would never be expected. In such cases drainage 
gives immediate relief and the maintenance of a good supply of 
organic matter in the soil, with constant summer cultivation, will 
usually insure good moisture conditions. 

"Plow Sole" or Plow Pan." — Constant plowing to the same 
depth or a failure to break up thoroughly the silty deposits at the 
bottom of irrigation furrows may in a few seasons produce a hard- 
ened and difficultly permeable layer of soil known, according to its 
origin, as plow sole or "irrigation hardpan." This may also be ag- 
gravated through the treading of stock and fruit pickers. Such 



34 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

hardened soil layers interfere with root development and make for 
poor aeration and water supply. They must be broken up by plow- 
ing or subsoiling. 

Rise of Ground Water. — The rise of the water table mainly due 
to excessive irrigation or the impermeability of one of the under- 
lying soil layers is a question of the most serious significance and 
one which the prospective purchaser of land or the owner of cropped 
land must not lose sight of. For this reason precautions taken in 
the examination of land for hardpan, irrigation with necessary, but 
not superfluous, amounts of water and adequate provision for drain- 
age will not only go far toward making land profitable at the time 
cropping is commenced, but will prevent troubles for the future 
through the accumulation of alkali and other baneful physiological 
effects on plants of a high water table. 

Alkali. — The term "alkali" denotes an accumulation of salts, in 
a limited depth of soil, which may be of such nature and quantity as 
to render the soil partially or totally unfit for profitable cropping. 
The term has no necessary reference to the reaction of the soil, as is 
commonly supposed, is therefore, a misnomer, and should not be con- 
fused with the term "alkaline," as referred to soil, since the latter 
denotes merely a "sweet" or favorable condition for the develop- 
ment of most of our crop plants. 

The "Alkali" salts may include common salt, Glauber salt, car- 
bonate of soda, Epsom salt, the chlorides of calcium and magnesium 
and more rarely some others, but for practical purposes we may take 
the ordinary classification, namely that of "black" and "white" 
alkali as being sufficient for the needs of soil management. By the 
"black" alkali, which is by far the most harmful of the sodium of 
salts mentioned, we mean carbonate of soda. It is so called because 
it dissolves out the humus and forms a black slimy layer on the sur- 
face. Very small quantities of this salt are sufficient to make clay 
soils unworkable because of the puddling effect it has on clay, and 
similarly very small quantities of it have the power of stopping the 
important process of nitrification. Since poorly aerated soils in the 
arid regions are favorable to the reactions which produce "black" 
alkali, especially where carbonates are plentiful or where excessive 
amounts of nitrate of soda are used for fertilizing, no pains should 
be spared to insure to soils, as nearly as possible, perfect aeration 
through drainage and tillage ; great care should be exercised in the 
use of irrigation water, and nitrate of soda should be employed 
sparingly. 

The term "white alkali" is usually applied to either common salt 
or Glauber salt, or both, in soils. Where present in sufficient quantity 
white alkali salts may, through evaporation of water, be deposited 
on the surface of the soil as a white efflorescence, such as that seen 
in exaggerated form on the Nevada desert, on some soils of the San 
Joaquin Valley and on some of the Coachella Valley soils. Of the 
"white" alkali salts common salt is by far the more harmful, and 
most fruit trees are not very resistant to it. They can, however, be 



HOW TO DETECT SOIL DEFECTS 35 

successfully grown in soils containing very considerable quantities 
of Glauber salt. 

In connection with consideration of the possible natural alkali- 
content of the soil, it is essential to guard against its increase by the 
use of alkaline water for irrigation — which will be mentioned in the 
chapter on irrigation. 

Prospecting for Soil Defects. — For subterranean prospecting, 
Professor Hilgard commends a steel rod not less than a quarter of 
an inch in diameter (round or square, preferably the latter), well 
pointed at one end, and provided at the other with a stout iron ring 
for the reception of a stout cross-handle, such as is used for post-hole 
augers. With such a prod, or sounding rod, not less than five feet in 
length, the exploration of the subsoil for hard-pan or dense clay 
layers becomes a matter of a few minutes. It is easy also to detect 
thus the presence of underlying layers of quicksand, gravel, or other 
loose materials through which irrigation water would waste, or 
which would prevent the rise of bottom water within reach of plant 
roots, by the large interspaces between their grains. Any remaining 
doubts as to the nature of such underlying material at particular 
points can then quickly be solved by the use of a post-hole auger 
or by digging, for thorough inspection of each foot of depth which 
may be found desirable. Subsoil prospecting or sampling can also 
be very easily done by boring with an ordinary carpenter's auger, 
13^ inches in diameter — the shank being lengthened by welding-in 
a piece of steel, three or four feet in length, according to the depth 
it is thought desirable to penetrate. Separate samples for each foot 
of depth are thus easily taken. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE WILD FRUITS OF CALIFORNIA 

The wild fruits of California are numerous, and for the most part 
peculiar to the region, being either of local genera or local species of 
more widely distributed genera. Very few are identical with the 
wild fruits common to great areas of the continent. For this reason 
our wild fruits constitute a very interesting subject for botanical 
study, and they are now, perhaps, more widely than ever before, 
attracting the attention of botanical pomologists. Viewed from the 
standpoint of practical pomology or horticulture, our wild fruits can 
not be claimed, on the whole, to have attained any very great im- 
portance. 

A few fruits, as will be noted further on, have demonstrated their 
culinary or household value, and are locally sought for, but none 
have any notable commercial value. This may be due to the fact that 
some of our most delicious wild fruits are very exacting in their 
choice of conditions, and can not be moved far, even within the limits 
of our own State. 

Another reason why we have made little of our own wild species 
is found in the fact that our climate favors the superior growth of 
the best improved fruits of nearly all parts of the world. Therefore, 
we have little occasion for recourse to the improvement of local wild 
fruits, because of superior hardiness and adaptation, as has been 
done in other parts of the country. 

The distribution of our wild fruits is determined by limitations 
of areas of similar climatic conditions. In a general way it may be 
said that fruits are most aboundant in foothill and mountain regions, 
and that our great valleys have always been practically destitute of 
them, except along streams borders. These fruits are most abundant 
in the northern portion of the State, but some exist throughout the 
State, usually thriving at higher elevations as they proceed south- 
ward.* 

Oregon Crabapple (Pirus rivularis). — This fruit, though more 
abundant in the more northerly regions of the Coast, as its name in- 
dicates, is found in the northwest counties of this State. It chooses a 
moist situation, becomes a tree fifteen to twenty-five feet high, shows 
white bloom, and red or yellow oblong fruit, about half an inch long. 
The flavor is rather acid, but the fruit is eaten by the Indians, and 
was sometimes used for jelly-making by early settlers. 

Wild Plum (Prunus subcordata). — This must be regarded as one 
of the most useful of our wild fruits. Even now, when the plum 
varieties of all the world have been introduced, residents in some of 
the Sierra regions, where the fruit abounds, prefer the wild plum 

*The botanical characters and relations of the fruiting plants mentioned in this chap- 
ter may be pursued in the "Manual of California Flowering Plants," by Dr. W. L. Jepson, 
published by the Associated Students Store, Berkeley: price, $3. 



CALIFORNIA WILD PLUMS AND CHERRIES 37 

to the cultivated fruit, both for eating and preserving and jelly- 
making. . . 

Concerning the variable species, subcordata, which has varieties 
both excellent and worthless, Dr. W. L. Jepson of the University of 
California furnishes the following note : 

In the coast ranges and central Sierras I have never seen Prunus sub- 
cordata with an edible or near-edible fruit. But in Modoc and Siskiyou 
counties the shrubs bear abundantly a bright red, roundish plum, which 
is used freely for preserving and highly praised for the manufactured pro- 
duct. These plums are certainly very beautiful. They are of a fine crimson 
color and I saw shrubs in the Warner mountains loaded with them. At the 
same time I saw shrubs of a sub-race ripening two weeks later a reddish 
fruit, much more bitter and little used by the settlers. In addition there is 
the yellow variety (Kelloggii), which is highly esteemed. 

The variety, Kelloggii, has a narrower range, forms a larger 
shrub, and bears a yellow fruit, larger and better than the typical 

species. . , ,-i^i 

Some attempts have been made to improve the edible varieties, 
both red and yellow, by cultivation and selection of seedlings, and 
the results are promising, as fruit has been shown at our fairs 
notably better than the wild gatherings. The roots have also been 
used to some extent as stocks, but seem to possess no marked advan- 
tage. The late Mr. Felix Gillet, of Nevada City, reported that graft- 
ing an improved plum on the wild stock seems to cause the root to 
grow to much greater size than natural to it. Observation upon 
grafted and non-grafted seedlings in the same nursery row con- 
vinced him of this behavior. Other experimenters have condemned 
the stock because of dwarfing and suckering. In the early days the 
wild plums in the mining regions of the mountains were largely 
made use of and highly praised by pioneers. 

Oso Berry (Osmaronia cerasiformis). — This fruit is sometimes 
called the "California false plum." It has a plum-like form, one- 
half inch long, and is of a rich, blue-black color, but is bitter, though 
not disagreeable to birds and animals, which feed upon it. The white 
bloom of the shrub has an almond odor. Used as a stock, the plum 
varieties grafted upon it have been dwarfed. 

Wild Cherries (Prunus sp.). — Quite a group of wild fruits corne 
under this generic grouping, and they have marked and widely dif- 
ferent characteristics. The western choke-cherry (Prunus demissa) 
closely resembles the Eastern choke-cherry, and bears its round, red, 
or dark purple fruit on a raceme. It is used for marmalade by house- 
wives in the mountain districts. This species has proved of some 
utility both for its fruit and as a stock for grafting in early days 
when better cherry stock was not available. Another species, Islay 
(Prunus ilicifolia), has evergreen foliage, and is a useful hedge 
plant. 

Of species bearing fruits in umbels, or true cherry style, we have 
the Bitter Cherry (Prunus emarginata), which makes a handsome 
tree, sometimes thirty feet high, but its oval, dark red fruit is quite 
bitter and astringent. The bush form bearing bright red fruit, in- 
tensely bitter, is the variety Californica. 



38 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

California Grape (Vitis Calif ornica). — Along our streams the 
native grape-vine attains large size and fruits freely, the fruit re- 
sembling the "frost grape" of the East. The vine frequently covers 
and sometimes kills large trees with the density of its foliage. Some 
variation is reported in the species, but it is possible that some of the 
better kinds are seedlings from some imported species, bird planted. 
The species has attained something of a reputation as a phylloxera- 
resisting root for grafting, but it has proved exacting in its choice 
of soils and situations, and otherwise not desirable, and some East- 
ern species are now relied upon for this service. 

Elderberry (Sambucus glauca). — The elderberry makes a fine 
tree in California, sometimes twenty feet or more in height, and with 
a trunk a foot and a half in diameter. The fruit is borne in large 
quantities and is used to some extent for preserves and pastry. 

Raspberries (Rubus sp.). — In the mountains of the eastern part 
of the State is a scarlet hemispherical berry of pleasant flavor, which 
is called "thimbleberry" (Rubus parviflorus). It seems to have an 
advantage over a variety (velutinus) of the same species which is 
found near the coast and has a dry, insipid fruit. Another raspberry, 
which is found in all hilly and mountainous regions, both on the 
coast and in the interior, is Rubus leucodermis. It resembles the 
black-cap raspberry of the Atlantic slope, except that it has yellow- 
ish-red fruit. This fruit is quite largely gathered for domestic uses, 
and some efforts have been made to cultivate the plants. 

Salmon Berry (Rubus spectabilis). — The beauty, size, and de- 
licious flavor of this fruit are highly commended by all who have 
enjoyed it in the upper coast counties of California and farther 
northward. The plant makes a strong bush, five to ten feet high, 
and delights in the woods and shady banks of streams. The praise 
of all who know the fruit has led to frequent attempts to introduce 
the plant to warmer and drier parts of the State, but such efforts 
have thus far uniformly failed. 

Wild Blackberry (Rubus vitifolius). — This fruit should perhaps 
be called a "dewberry," as it has trailing, or, at most, but partially 
raised stems, which extend from five to twenty feet. The plant 
occurs abundantly on banks of streams and other sufficiently moist 
locations, both in the coast and interior regions of the State. Around 
the margin of Humboldt Bay, on land cleared by fire or axe, black- 
berries spring up abundantly on the denuded land. Tons of the fruit 
are said to remain after the local housewives have done their utmost 
in preserving and jelly-making. In the low-land region around 
Stockton considerable quantities are sometimes gathered for sale. 
The fruit, which has been held in high repute ever since pioneer 
days, is oblong, black and sweet. The species is variable, and the 
anomaly, a white blackberry, has been reported from Del Norte 
county. The native wild blackberry is one of the parents of the Lo- 
ganberry and of some of Mr. Burbank's hybrids which are widely 
known. 



CALIFORNIA WILD BERRIES AND CURRANTS 39 

Wild Strawberries (Fragaria sp.)- — We have in California two 
Eastern species : Fragaria vesca and F. Virginiana. Thus far these 
have only been reported from localities in the Sierra mountain 
region. Another, the sand strawberry, has been found identical with 
a South American species, Chilensis, and it occurs along the coast, 
where the fruit is esteemed, and is sometimes abundant enough to 
gather in quantity. A fourth species, wood strawberry, is local, and 
is named Californica. It bears a small round fruit and is partial to 
the coast region. Recently some cultural attention has been given 
to the wild strawberries, and varieties worthy of propagation have 
been reported by growers resident in the Sierra region. Mr. Albert 
F. Etter of Ettersburg, Humboldt county, has secured notable re- 
sults in crossing with the wild strawberry, as will be noted in the 
chapter on that fruit. 

Wild Gooseberries and Currants (Ribes sp.). — Some of our 
currant species are achieving quite a reputation abroad as orna- 
mental shrubs, but they bear insipid fruit. The fruit of Ribes tenui- 
florum is, however, more agreeable, and is esteemed for jellies, etc., 
by dwellers in its region, which is the mountain region of the ex- 
treme north of the State. We also have a species (bracteosum) 
which has something of the black currant flavor and a fair-sized fruit, 
black with whitish bloom, and very sweet. 

There are also several species of Ribes which are classed with 
the gooseberries, but only three bear edible fruit. One of these 
(Ribes divaricatum) is peculiar to this coast; another (Ribes Roe- 
zlii) occurs at middle elevations in the Sierra Nevada. The berries 
are small to medium, of pleasant flavor, and well armed with spines. 
Another species (Ribes leptanthum), common in San Luis Obispo 
and Kern counties, resembles the flavor of the cultivated gooseberry, 
and is free from spines. 

Cranberries and Huckleberries (Vaccinium sp.). — We have sev- 
,eral species belonging to the same botanical genus as the Eastern 
cranberry, but quite different from it both in growth of the plant 
and character of fruit. The fruit of two species is reddish, but in- 
sipid. Other species (V. ovatum, etc.) have dark blue or purple 
fruit. Some of these are locally esteemed, and the argument drawn 
from them is that the cranberry of commerce would succeed. It 
should be stated, however, that the situations in which these plants 
thrive are not at all according to the requirements of the bog cran- 
berry. A huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum) is largely gathered in 
the redwood region of Northern California, for canning and pie- 
making. The berries are juicy and delicious, and the preserved fruit 
has a very agreeable flavor. In one year as many as two thousand 
boxes were profitably gathered on the hills of western Sonoma 
county. 

Other Berries. — There are many small, wild fruits commonly 
designated as berries, which are of considerable botanical interest. 
The fruit, too, may be said to be edible, judging by the taste of In- 
dians, birds, and wild beasts, but not likely to be much more than 



40 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

ornamental in the eyes of white people. They may be briefly enu- 
merated : 

The "manzanita" (various species of Arctostaphylos, especially 
A. manzanita, A. glauca, and A. patula) the "little apple" of the 
Spaniards, bears a rather dry but sub-acid fruit. 

The "bear berry" (Arctostaphylos uvaursi) is esteemed by the 
Indians both as food and medicine. 

"The western buffalo berry" (Shepherdia argentea) has small 
acid edible fruits. 

The "salal" (Gaultheria shallon), small fruit, either red or pur- 
ple, is also a favorite of the aborigines. 

Of "barberries" we have three species of Berberis. One, aqui- 
folium, is called the "Oregon grape," chiefly notable for its hand- 
some bloom, which has been chosen the State flower of Oregon. The 
fruit is dark blue and the root is said to be a febrifuge. Another 
species (nervosa) has a larger fruit which is esteemed in cookery; 
and a third species (pinnata) bears a small, pleasant-flavored fruit. 
It is the Lena amarilla of the Spanish Californians. 

Our "service berry" (Amelanchier alnifolia) is from a quarter to 
a third of an inch in diameter and of a purple color. 

The "lemon berry" is a fruit of Rhus integrifolia, and is coated 
with an acid exudation which is said to dissolve in water and make a 
pleasant drink. The fruit of Rhus trilobata is said to have both a 
sweet and acid coating. 

The berries of the "toyon" or "tollon" (Heteromeles arbuti- 
foHa), or "California holly," are said to be eaten by Indians, but 
they serve the white people a better purpose in Christmas decora- 
tions. 

The "jujubes" of commerce (Zizyphus jujuba) has a local rela- 
tive in Zizyphus parryi, which is, however, dry and mealy, rather 
than juicy. 

The "beach strawberry," or "sea fig," is the fruit of Mesembri- 
anthemum aequilaterale, a relative of the ice-plant. The good-sized 
fruit is gathered along the seashore, and its fla^'^or remotely suggests 
a strawberry. 

Wild Olive (Forestieria Neo-mexicana). — This is a tall willow- 
like shrub, found in springy places on the borders of the Mojave 
Desert. It also grows in the Salinas Valley. It bears an abundance 
of small fruits which, from their botanical relationship to the olive, 
have attracted some attention. Experiments to determine its stand- 
ing as a possible root for the olive have been suggested. 

Wild Nuts of California. — The wild nuts of California are of very 
little commercial importance. The wild almond (Prunus Ander- 
sonii) of the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevadas is chiefly of botani- 
cal interest, although some experiments are in progress in its use as 
a grafting stock for the sweet almond. The California filbert (Cory- 
lus Calif ornica) has none of the quality of the improved filberts nor 
even of the wild hazelnut. Our native chestnut, the giant Chin- 
quapin (Castanopsis chrysophylla) has a sweet kernel, but a hard 



THE WILD NUTS OF CALIFORNIA 41 

shell, almost like a hazelnut ; its near relative, Castanopsis semper- 
virens, or Bush Chinquapin of the Sierra Nevada and dry Coast 
Range, is said to have a better flavored kernel. The nuts of both 
of these species are very difficult to obtain because the fruit sets 
sparingly and the squirrels harvest the crop early. Of our two spe- 
cies of native walnuts, one local in Southern California (Juglans 
Californica) is usually a small tree bearing a small nut. A better 
tree is the walnut of Central California (Juglans Hindsii), bearing 
a larger nut which is better in flavor than the Eastern black walnut, 
but its hard shell makes it of little commercial account in competi- 
tion with better, cultivated nuts. The root is widely used as a stock 
for the English walnut, as will be discussed in the chapter on the 
walnut. 

The one native nut which is regularly sold in the local market is 
the "pinenut" — seeds of several species of Pacific Coast pines, par- 
ticularly the "Nevada Nut Pine" or "One-leaf Pinyon." Their 
flavor is somewhat resinous, but is agreeable. 

The seeds of two species of palms, Washingtonia filifera and the 
Lower California Erythea armata, are sought for by the Indians, who 
also eat the sweetish fruit of the Yucca Mojavensis, which somewhat 
resembles in shape the banana, and in flavor the fig, and is called the 
"wild date." 

The Indians also use the acorns of several species of California 
oaks as food, extracting the bitterness by soaking in water, and then 
making a rude bread of the acorn meal. 

The "jajoba," or "goat-nut" (Simmondsia Californica), is a low 
shrub, the fresh fruits of which, deprived of their seed-coats, are 
eaten like almonds, and when dried by fire and ground they are used 
as a beverage, in the form of tablets made up with sugar, or as a 
simple infusion. Fire-dried seeds contain 48.30 per cent of fatty 
matter ; the oil is suitable for food and of good quality, and is said 
not to turn rancid. In Lower California it is prepared by boiling 
with water. 

The nuts of the California laurel were roasted by the native tribes 
and esteemed a great delicacy. 

Cactus. — The common cactus (Opuntia Engelmanni) bears a 
sweet edible fruit which the Indians dry in large quantities for win- 
ter use. By long boiling they make a sauce, which, after slight 
fermentation, they consider especially nutritious and stimulating. 
The local species has been used by Mr. Burbank in crossing to secure 
improved spineless fruits on plants of greater productiveness. 



CHAPTER V 

CALIFORNIA MISSION FRUITS 

Cultivated fruits were first brought into California from the 
south. Mission work among the Indians of Lower California was 
actually begun by the establishment of the mission at Loreto by 
Salvatierra, October 19, 1697, The following years horses and cattle 
were brought from Mexico, and from this introduction came ulti- 
mately the vast herds which roamed the hills and plains of Cali- 
fornia. Probably the first seeds and plants of cultivated vegetables 
and fruits came about the same time, for there was a small garden 
and a few fruit trees at Loreto in 1701. But Loreto was not fitted 
for horticulture, and in the same year an expedition in charge of 
Father Ugarte, who is called the founder of agriculture in Lower 
California, crossed over the mountains to a more suitable location 
at the mission of Vigge Biaundo, which had been destroyed some 
time before by hostile Indians. Ugarte restored the mission, made 
irrigating ditches, and planted fruit trees and vines. This effort was 
successful from a horticultural point of view, for in 1707 Ugarte 
made more wine than would suffice for mission use, and sent some 
to Mexico in exchange for other goods. Thus began the export trade 
in California wine. 

The Jesuits continued their establishment of missions in Lower 
California until there were fifteen missions, at five of which there 
were vineyards, and presumably as many or more which had gardens 
with fruit trees. 

The variety of fruits grown in Lower California was small. They 
had figs, oranges, citrons, pomegranates, plantains, and some olives 
and dates. There were no North European fruits, with the exception 
of a few peaches, which, however, did not appear to thrive. 

The Jesuits were supplanted in Lower California, in 1768, by the 
Franciscans. The Franciscans, led by Junipero Serra, at once 
pressed northward, and entered the territory which is now the State 
of California. Their first establishment was at San Diego, in 1769. 
Thence they proceeded northward, braving many perils, and under- 
going great hardships, establishing missions through the coast re- 
gion of the State. Credit is given to the secular head of the expedi- 
tion to San Diego, Don Jose de Galvez, representing the king of 
Spain, for ordering the carrying of seeds of fruit, grains, vegetables, 
and flowers into the new territory, and from the planting at San 
Diego the same varieties were taken to the twenty missions after- 
wards established. 

Kinds of Fruit at the Missions. — It is of no little interest to ascer- 
tain how great a variety of fruits was grown in these mission or- 
chards. Vancouver, in 1792, found a fine orchard at Santa Clara, 
with apple, peach, pear, apricot, and fig trees, all thrifty and promis- 
ing. He also describes at the mission of San Buena Ventura apples, 
pears, plums, figs, oranges, grapes, peaches and pomegranates. 



MISSION FRUITS IN AMERICAN OCCUPATION 43 

Robinson described the orchards connected with the Mission of San 
Gabriel as very extensive, having among their trees oranges, citrons, 
limes, apples, pears, peaches, pomegranates, and figs. There were 
also grapes in abundance. Edwin Bryant noticed at San Luis Obispo 
Mission the orange, fig, date-palm, olive, and grape. E. S. Capron, 
in a general enumeration of the fruits grown at the missions, includes 
cherries. 

Early Planting by Others than the Padres. — Though the earlier 
Spanish population had the example of successful horticulture before 
tihem for half a century at the missions, they did not seem inclined 
to emulate the efforts of the padres upon their own grounds, except 
in occasional instances. General Vallejo planted fruit trees in 
Sonoma Valley as early as 1830, and of his place it is said : *Tt is 
an old and well-cultivated place, well known in all the northern 
portions of California while this State was still Mexican territory." 
Exceptions there were also at the south. The old fruit garden on 
the Camulos Rancho, in Ventura county, has become famous. Fre- 
mont, writing of his observations in 1846, says that among the arid, 
brush-covered hills south of San Diego he found little valleys con- 
verted by a single spring into crowded gardens, where pears, 
peaches, quinces, pomegranates, grapes, olives, and other fruits grew 
luxuriantly together. 

Scarcely had six years elapsed subsequent to the settlement of 
the pueblo of San Jose on its present site before the inhabitants 
were enjoying the benefits of luxurious fruits. Before 1805 more 
fruit was grown than could be disposed of in its natural state. 

Decline of the Mission Orchards. — The decline of most of the 
mission orchards and gardens followed the secularization of the 
establishments in 1834. There were a few exceptions, where the 
mission lands fell into enterprising Spanish or American hands. 
During the years of neglect, the more tender trees died, and the 
more hardy survived. The pear and the olive vied with the vine in 
withstanding drouth and the trampling and browsing of the cattle 
that roamed unmolested through the deserted gardens. These pears, 
as will be described presently, were turned to good account by the 
early American settlers ; the olive, fig and vine furnished cuttings 
for most of the plantations made during the first twenty years or 
more of American occupation. 

But it seems that not all the mission orchards were permitted to 
fall into decay after secularization. In 1846 Edwin Bryant found 
at the Mission San Jose two gardens inclosed by high adobe walls. 
The area was from fifteen to twenty acres, all of which was planted 
with fruit trees and grape vines. There were about six hundred 
pear trees and a large number of apple and peach trees, all bearing 
fruit in great abundance, the quality of the pears being excellent, 
the apples and peaches indifferent. Other visitors to some of the 
mission orchards between the events of secularization and American 
occupation speak of being regaled with pears and milk, a dish which 
seemed to them ambrosial after the weary journeys overland across 
the deserts, or after months of ship fare. 



44 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Planting of Mission Fruits by Early Settlers. — There were quite 
considerable plantations, chiefly of mission grapes and oranges, by 
early settlers in the neighborhood of Los Angeles. General Bidwell 
saw in Los Angeles in 1845 the largest vineyard that he had seen in 
California, and the vines were the most thrifty. Wine was also 
abundant — even the Angelica. Los Angeles had orchards, also, 
mostly of oranges. The largest orange orchards at that time were 
those of Wolfskin, Carpenter, and Louis Vigne. During recent years 
the modern city of Los Angeles has been built over and beyond 
them. 

Among the early planters of mission fruits in the northern part 
of the State was Yount, who planted vines in Napa Valley in 1838, 
and other fruits later. John Wolfskill, of Winters, saw grapes and 
peaches at Yount's in 1841, and J. M. Pleasant took peach pits from 
Yount's over into Pleasant's valley, Solano county, in 1851. Dr. 
Marsh, on his place at the base of Mount Diablo, had, in 1842, a 
mission grape vineyard more than an acre in extent, and in good 
bearing. The vines were planted about 1838. Mr. Wolfskill planted 
a few vines on Putah Creek in 1842. 

Partial Revival of the Mission Fruit Gardens. — After the incom- 
ing of Americans in 1849 some of the old Mission trees were secured 
by enterprising men, and made to renew their youth by pruning, 
cultivation, and irrigation, that they might minister to the great 
demand for fruit which sprang up among the gold seekers. The 
trees richly reciprocated the care and attention given them, and 
there still exist at the San Gabriel Mission old pear trees grafted 
over with improved varieties by W. M. Stockton in 1854. The first 
fruits offered for sale in San Francisco markets were from the pear 
trees of Santa Clara and San Jose Missions, and from the mission 
grapevines of the same localities, and of Los Angeles county. These 
grapes, packed in sawdust, came up the coast by steamer, and were 
then re-shipped to the mining camps, arriving for the most part in 
good condition, and were very popular. It is recorded that one 
thousand five hundred tons of these grapes were sent from Los 
Angeles county to San Francisco and the mines in 1852. Another 
instance in which thrift followed neglect is seen in the fact that, in 
1858, Don Andres Pico, who succeeded to possession of the orchard 
at the San Fernando Mission, did a considerable business in drying 
pears and other fruits, using the labor of the Indians. 

At the present time vestiges of the old mission orchards still re- 
main, the pears and olives still bearing, and in some cases the old 
date palms guarding the desolate scenes, or standing as reminders 
of the old regime, while the new life of California is surging up 
around them. 

RUSSIAN FRUITS 

The second introduction of cultivated fruits to California was by 
the Russians. The exact date of their planting at Fort Ross on the 
ocean side in Mendocino county, is not known, but is believed to 
have been as early as 1812. The survivors of the original Russian 



RUSSIAN INTRODUCTION OF FRUITS 45 

planting look "very old and mossy, and are not very thrifty, but 
still bear some fruit every year." They v^ere planted too closely, 
and have undergone periods of neglect, no doubt. The trees are 
apple for the most part, but there were also cherries, and some of 
both fruits survive. The trees are all believed to have been grown 
from seed, and if this be true some fortunate results were obtained, 
for there is still grown in Green Valley, Sonoma county, a medium- 
sized, bell-shaped apple, lightly striped with red, which is called 
the Fort Ross or Russian apple, and was probably propagated by 
grafts from the Fort Ross orchard. Seeds were also secured from 
this source for propagation of apple trees in early days in that sec- 
tion of the State. 



CHAPTER VI 

CALIFORNIA'S LEADERSHIP IN AMERICAN 
FRUIT INDUSTRIES 

The first cultivated fruits of the old era came to California with 
the padres. The first fruits of the new era came with the American 
pioneers. Though not a little inquiry has been made, it is not yet 
possible to declare definitely who brought the first budded or grafted 
trees upon California soil. It is a tradition in the family of Martin 
Lelong, who came to California as a member of Stevenson's regi- 
ment in 1846, that he brought with him a small lot of trees of French 
varieties of apples growing in a box, and that they were planted in 
Los Angeles. 

In the fall of 1849, W. H. Nash joined with R. L. Kilburn in or- 
dering from a nursery in western New York a small box of thirty- 
six fruit trees, which, packed in moss, well survived the journey 
around the Horn, arriving and being planted in Napa Valley in the 
spring of 1850. The shipment included Rhode Island Greening, Rox- 
bury Russet, Winesap, Red Romanite, Esopus Spitzenburg apples ; 
Bartlett and Seckel pears. Black Tartarian and Napoleon Bigarreau 
cherries. 

Before the introduction of grafted fruit trees, and, indeed, for 
several years afterwards, there were many shipments of fruit-tree 
seeds from the Eastern States to California. Mr. Barnett planted 
Kentucky seed as early as 1847 in Napa county. T. K. Stewart 
brought to California with him, in 1848, about two hundred pounds 
of vegetable and fruit seeds, the latter including peach, pear and 
apple, all of which were planted on the American River, within the 
present limits of Sacramento, in the spring of 1849. At the same 
time he planted figs and olives, and, in 1851, seeds of oranges. From 
all these he secured bearing trees. In 1848 also, Peter Weimar, who 
was with Marshall, the discoverer of gold, at Coloma planted seeds 
which he took from dried apples brought from the east and grew 
seedling apples which were very profitable. 

But these early efforts at improvement of California fruits were 
but faint forerunners of the zeal and enterprise which followed the 
great invasion by gold seekers. As soon as the first thought — to get 
gold directly from the soil — would admit the second — to get it in- 
directly, by agricultural and horticultural arts — there came a de- 
mand for something better than the wild fruits of the mountains, 
better and more abundant than the seedling fruits from the mission 
orchards. At first everything in the line of fruit-tree seed which 
could be obtained was planted. Thus the immediate vicinity of the 
mines soon began to show growing fruit trees. But seedlings of any 
kind would not satisfy the planters, and effort was put forth in every 
direction after grafted trees of the best varieties. Oregon had a 
few years the start of California as an inviting field for immigration 
and the advantage also of winning the attention of those who went 
out, not as gold seekers, but as agricultural producers. Oregon had 



INTRODUCTION OF IMPROVED FRUITS 47 

grafted trees in bearing, and nursery stock as well, about the time 
the demand sprang up for it in California. Up to 1847 the cultivated 
fruit of Oregon consisted of seedlings introduced by the Hudson 
Bay Company in 1824, and by the early settlers from the Mississippi 
Valley. In 1847 Henderson Lewelling crossed the plains from Henry 
county, Iowa, to Oregon, bringing with him a pretty general vari- 
ety of grafted fruits. He fitted up a wagon, selected small plants, 
and planted them in soil in the boxes. He arrived in Oregon, late in 
the fall, with three hundred plants alive. The same fall William 
Meek arrived in Oregon with a few varieties of fruit trees. He and 
Lewelling put their stock together, and commenced the first nursery 
of grafted fruits on the Pacific Coast about five miles south of Port- 
land, on the east bank of the Willamette river. In March, 1851, 
grafts of apple, pear, peach, plum and cherry were brought to Cali- 
fornia by Mr. Seth Lewelling and sold in Sacramento. 

Other commercial importations and shipments by planters for 
their own use were also made, so that the plantings of 1851-52 were 
quite large. Still there was great doubt as to the success of the 
trees. Mr. G. G. Briggs, after his great melon profits of 1851, went 
back to New York State for his family, and, returning to California, 
brought with him, as he says, "with no idea that they would succeed, 
but as a reminder of home," fifty peach and a few apple and pear 
trees. To his surprise, the trees grew well in 1852, and the next 
year blossomed and bore some of the best peaches he ever saw. The 
pears also bore some fine fruit the same year. 

There were other introductions of grafted trees in 1852, for, at a 
fair held in San Francisco in 1853, there were several kinds of 
apples, grown by Isaac A. Morgan, of Bolinas, on trees planted the 
previous year, for which a silver medal was awarded, which is still 
cherished by the members of his family. Apples were also shown 
from Napa. David Spence, of Monterey, showed the first almonds 
grown in California. During the winter of 1852-53 the distribution 
of grafted trees extended widely over the State. Five dollars for a 
small tree was frequently paid at the nursery in Oregon, and the 
trees were carried overland into the mining districts of California, 
as well as brought to San Francisco for distribution through the 
valleys. 

Fruit Gardens, Not Orchards. — It is interesting to note that much 
of the pioneer effort was expended upon fruit gardens rather than 
fruit orchards. Two ideas, at least, led in this direction. One was 
the popular thought, which, however, was very early found to be 
erroneous, that frequent and copious irrigation was essential to the 
growth of fruit in this dry climate. Another was the ambition, 
which was correct, both from a horticultural and commercial point 
of view, to secure the fruit just as soon as possible, for the double 
purpose of determining what was adapted to the novel conditions, 
and to secure the magnificent prices which fruit commanded in the 
market. For these ends dwarfing stocks naturally suggested them- 
selves, and were employed to an extent which seems wonderful when 
it is remembered that now very few dwarf fruit trees are grown. 
Very early, say from '52 to '58, at San Jose, Oakland, Stockton and 



4g CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Sacramento, small areas, which would now only be considered re- 
spectable house lots, \vere turned to great profit with dwarf pear 
and apple trees. The place of Mr. Fountain, near Oakland, was 
called, in 1857, "The finest orchard of dwarf trees in the State." 
It consisted of three acres set with one thousand six hundred apple 
and pear trees, all dwarf from root grafts, two years old, and four 
feet high, and most of them in good bearing. He started the 
branches from the ground, pruning severely, and heading in during 
the winter. He claimed that dwarfing gave him better and larger 
fruit, and from two to three years' sooner than with standard trees. 
He did not irrigate, but plowed frequently, four inches deep, up to 
the first of June. 

But though these dwarf-tree gardens were formally declared "to 
be the fashion," and though the list of stock of one Sacramento 
nurseryman, in 1858, included ninety-five standard and eight thou- 
sand and sixty-eight dwarf pear trees for sale, the foundations of the 
greater orchards were early laid upon the basis of standard trees. 
Thus the Briggs' orchard, of one thousand acres on the moist land 
of the Yuba, was planted with trees sixteen feet apart each way, 
and other early planters on the rich lands of central Alameda county 
adopted about the same distance. 

Quite in contrast, too, with the prevalence of dwarf trees, and 
contemporaneous with it, was the grand plan which the pioneer of 
pioneers. General Sutter, laid out his orchard on Hock Farm, on the 
w^est bank of the Feather River, eight miles from its junction with 
the Yuba. Several acres were set apart for an ornamental fruit 
orchard, the trees and shrubs being so arranged as to present a 
unique landscape garden, nearly every article in which is productive 
of fruit. The fruit trees were planted on either side of the broad 
avenues opening through the extensive grounds in various direc- 
tions. 

But neither the narrow dwarf-tree garden plan nor the broad 
landscape-garden plan survived. Neither of them harmonized with 
the commercial idea of orcharding — large production and economy 
of cultivation, and both were soon abandoned. The only early plant- 
ing of dwarf trees which now survives is the Block orchard of pears 
at Santa Clara which will be mentioned in the chapter on that fruit. 

Irrigation Abemdoned. — The early abandonment of dwarf trees 
suggests also the early abandonment of irrigation in the valleys of 
Northern California — as early as 1856. Facilities which had been 
secured for irrigation of orchards were allowed to go unused, be- 
cause it was thought better not to use them. One case is reported 
in Napa county where means to furnish the orchard with thirty 
thousand gallons of water per day were allowed to lie idle. The 
substitution of cultivation for water, of course, attended this reform. 
The announcement of a practice, in 1856, "to plow deep, dig wide 
and deep holes for planting, and work the ground from February 
to July, allowing no grass or weeds to grow among the trees," shows 
that the thorough and clean culture, for which California became 
famous, is an old idea. Even the abandonment of the plow, and 
almost weekly use of the cultivator, was the practice of some grow- 



PIONEER EXPERIENCES IN FRUIT GROWING 49 

ers in the San Jose district before 1860. In fact, the descriptions of 
orchard management in that day inckide nearly all the methods 
which have since prevailed. Later experience has, however, shown 
that irrigation facilities are more valuable even for deciduous fruits 
than was once thought possible. This proposition will be discussed 
in the chapter on irrigation. As for the policy of clean cultivation 
for the whole year, it also has been succeeded by a more rational 
policy of cover cropping which will be discussed in the chapters on 
cultivation and fertilization. 

Early Wisdom and Enterprise. — It is evident to anyone who 
studies the records, that California was very fortunate in numbering 
among the early settlers so many men with horticultural tastes, skill, 
and experience. The rapidity with which fruit trees were multiplied, 
and the confidence with which these early comers entered upon the 
nursery business, shows their training. Although there were many 
trees brought here from the East and from Europe, they constituted 
only a small percentage of the plantings of the first few years ; 
but the orchards, with the exception of a very small number of trees 
introduced to furnish grafting and budding stock, were the product 
of the soil. When this is borne in mind, it becomes all the more 
wonderful how so much could be done in a new country, in a distant 
part of the world, in so very short a time. It was an observation 
which was put upon record as early as 1856, that "some varieties of 
fruit are much improved by change to this State, and some are not 
benefited." The test seems to have been that if a variety was not 
better than at the East, it should be discarded. 

The First Oversupply. — The wonderful stimulus given to the 
fruit interest by the results obtained in growth and in marketing, 
soon induced larger plantings than the demand warranted. In 1857 
it was publicly stated that "there are single farms in this State con- 
taining each over half a million fruit trees in orchard and nursery — 
one person owning enough trees, when fully matured, to produce as 
much fruit, other than grapes, as will be sold this year throughout 
our State. The day is not far distant when fruit will be an impor- 
tant crop for raising and fattening swine." This was, to a certain 
extent, a statement of a croaker, for plantation continued, rare va- 
rieties were brought from the East, the South, and from Europe; 
the growth of some fruits continued to be very profitable and the 
nursery business, confined to fewer hands, was profitable also. The 
idea that quality rather than size should be striven for led to more 
discrimination in propagation and better treatment of trees. 

The decade from 1858 to 1868 w-as one of quiet in the fruit in- 
terest of California. Many of the too hastily and carelessly planted 
trees died from lack of proper cultivation and pruning, and the 
borer wrought sad havoc. In 1860 and 1861 there was serious de- 
pression. It is recorded that peaches were worth but one cent a 
pound, and many were allowed to go to waste as not worth gather- 
ing. The flood of 1862 destroyed many trees along the Sacramento 
River, and replanting was slow until prices began to improve, as 
they did soon afterward. The rapid development of the mining in- 



50 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



terest in Nevada, and the construction of roads across the Sierras, 
opened the way for the disposition of much fruit grown in the foot- 
hills and in the region around Sacramento. 

The imports of dried and canned fruits were large, and growers 
were exhorted to take steps to secure this trade for themselves. 
Something was done in this direction, for by 1867 the local product 
of canned fruit was equal to the demand. Drying did not advance 
so fast ; for two years later there were imports of six thousand bar- 
rels of dried apples, while hundreds of thousands of bushels of 
the fruit were rotting under the trees in our orchards. 

The decade under review was also notable for the first appear- 
ance of cured raisins and prunes at the State Fair of 1863. The 
raisins were from the Muscat of Alexandria grape, and the report 
states that so-called raisins exhibited previous to that time were 
merely dried grapes. Dr. J. Strentzel, of Martinez, was the first 
exhibitor of Muscat raisins, and he exhibited also dried grapes of 
four varieties to show the contrast between a raisin and a dried 
grape. It is recorded, however, that true raisins from the Muscat 
grape were made by A. P. Smith, of Sacramento, in 1858. J. R. 
Nickerson, of Placer County, exhibited the dried prunes, which were 
of the German variety. 

Though this decade was one of uncertainty and doubt, there 
were rich lessons of experience learned, and the foundations for 
coming greatness were well laid. Many of our leading lines of 
production trace their beginnings to this period, and their later 
developments have been beyond any anticipations then cherished. 

Fresh Fruits for Distant Markets. — In 1869 the first fresh fruits 
were sent East over the newly-opened overland line. The first sea- 
son's shipments amounted to thirty-three tons of pears, apples, 
grapes, and plums ; in 1870 seventy carloads, or about seven hundred 
tons, were sent. A new era began with the year 1886, when the first 
full train load of fifteen cars of fresh fruit from deciduous trees 
went overland. Shipping train loads of oranges from Southern 
California began at an earlier date. The development of this phase 
of California fruit production during the last fifteen years is shown 
in the adjacent table. Statistics of long distance shipments of 
fresh fruits from the beginning are given in earlier editions of this 
book. 

Shipments of Fresh Fruits Beyond State Lines by Rail, in Actual Carloads. 

Miscel- 
Year Oranges Lemons Apricots Cherries Grapes Peaches Pears Plums laneous Total 

1910 . 28 317 4,782 290 250 4,948 2,518 2,3611,552 17 25,542 

1911 .. 39,630 6,764 215 216 6,374 2,027 2,325 1,366 16 45,638 

1912 34 329 5,961 196 244 6,357 1,621 3,135 1,776 15 58,738 

1913 .... 15,893 2,192 158 231 6,363 2,359 2,496 1,706 19 53,622 

1914 45,594 2,954 382 166 8,773 2,144 2,725 1,907 49 34,121 

1915 40,011 6,851 392 205 9,563 1,689 2,646 2,225 58 65,326 

1916 38,034 7,200 290 164 9,722 1,909 3,701 1,999 106 64,753 

1917 46,447 7,914 403 330 13,944 2,432 4,802 2,651 66 69,902 

1918 17,204 6,331 440 356 16,358 3,137 4,5712,483 75 50,955 

1919 39,307 10,023 420 335 19.017 2,773 4,248 2,918 49 79,091 

1920 35,547 9,029 312 494 24,065 3,107 4,376 2,533 312 80,777 



PRESENT EXTENT OF THE FRUIT INDUSTRY 



51 



The table does not include apples because they are not handled 
in the same way as other fruits. The figures of dried and canned 
fruits and nuts will appear in Chapter XLI. 

The Fruit Interests of 1920. — The fruit interests of California 
now constitute the greatest single industry of California, and the 
fruit output of California is far greater than that of any other State 
in the Union. Notable progress has been secured in planting, in 
the growth, preparation and marketing of the product, in the con- 
test with injurious insects and plant diseases, and, in fact, in all 
things which contribute to success. 

Some idea of the dimensions of the California fruit interests may 
be had from the enumeration of the trees and vines made by the 
State Board of Equalization for March 1, 1920, and the report of 
the quantities and valuations of the products to the growers made 
by the Bureau of Crop Estimates of the United States Department 
of Agriculture for the year 1920, as follows : 

Acreage of California Fruits: Also Products and Valuation for 1920 



Fruit Bearing trees Non-Bearing Product 

Almond 2,711,550 1,872,387 5,500 tons 

Apple 2,276,406 1,149,300 6,000,000 bushels 

Apricot 3,336,646 548,054 115,000 tons 

Cherry 750,794 301,917 15,000 do 

Fig 543,940 386,024 10,000 do 

Peach 10,708,395 980,403 345,000 do 

Pear 2,168,198 1,098,668 90,000 do 

Plum 1,133,135 261,553 35,000 do 

Prune 11,829,833 3,329,634 *95,000 do 

Orange 9,978,635 1,490,826 18.700,000 boxes 

Lemon 2,212,883 531,253 4,500,000 do 

Pomelo 143,423 149,802 325,000 do 

Olive 1,150,059 353,199 10,000 tons 

Walnut 1,173,123 381,068 21,500 do 

Grapes, table.... t64,823 tl5,938 160.000 do 

Grapes, raisin.... tl38,922 tl9,814 *180,000 do 

Grapes, wine.... tl26,357 tl0,697 380,000 do 

Strawberries t4,974 10,808,048 quarts 

Berries, other... t2,962 4,650,678 do 

Total valuation on farm (not in market) 

tindicates acres. 

•Figures for prunes and raisins are weights of cured products. 

It was shown by the U. S. Census of 1910 that California led 
the other States in every fruit except two — the apple and the cherry. 
California also led in the total value of all fruits produced in all 
States — producing in fact about one-fourth of all the fruit grown in 
the United States. Since the census year, 1909, the California fruit 
interests have notably advanced, and it is anticipated that the census 
of 1920 will show that California leads in the production of all fruits 
grown in the United States except the apple. The preliminary re- 
ports of the Census of 1920 place the farm value of the fruit crops of 
1919 at $270,910,705. The less value for 1920, as given above, is due 
to fluctuations both in production and prices prevailing. 



N'aluation 

$ 1,980,000 

9,605.000 

9,775,000 

3,000,000 

900,000 

26,220,000 

8,100,000 

3,150,000 

19,000,000 

51,425,000 

2,700,000 

893,750 

800,000 

8,000,000 

12,000,000 

55,800,000 

24,700,000 

2,540,082 

931,140 

.$241,519,972 



52 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

INFLUENCE OF THE FRUIT INDUSTRIES UPON 
CALIFORNIA DEVELOPMENT 

Enlistment in California fruit growang has proved exceedingly 
satisfactory to tens of thousands of people in the various ways 
along which they have approached it. The fruit districts are full 
of cottage homes sheltering famihes of those who have begun with 
small investments and have made a good livelihood, and often con- 
siderably more, from a few acres of fruits grown largely without 
expenditure for hired labor. The study of the needs of the tree or 
vine and ministering to them by personal effort has brought new 
health and new incentive to the worn and weary who have taken 
up outdoor life and activity in California fruit growing with a wise 
choice of location, land and fruits, for obviously in all investments 
one must be wise as well as willing. 

In large operations hundreds have notably succeeded by pur- 
chasing good land in large tracts at low rates and making ample 
investment for its development and improvement. Some of the most 
deHghtful of our towns and villages have arisen as a direct result 
of such employment of capital. Well established communities, well 
churched and schooled, well provided for in local trade and trans- 
portation, have followed investment and devoted effort in colony 
enterprises. 

Hundreds, also, have purchased large tracts of wild land and 
have developed fine estates for their own personal gratification, 
with thriving orchards of all kinds of fruits, rich pastures tenanted 
with improved livestock, parks, gardens and buildings comparable 
with the estates of the European nobility, except that California 
conditions favor freedom and variety in outdoor effort unknown 
in Europe, and command proportional interest and enthusiasm. 
Estates for winter residences in California are exceptionally desir- 
able, not only because of natural advantages and greater possibilities 
of development, but because of the advanced standing of the State 
financially and socially. 

All of these lines of effort, then — home-making in a small way, 
colony enterprise and private estate development — have yielded on 
the whole great satisfaction and success. Fruit growing has been 
the central idea in nearly all of them, but it is obvious that activity 
in any productive line begets opportunity for other lines, and so all 
branches of agriculture have advanced and the diversification is 
highly desirable. Opportunities in manufacture, trade and pro- 
fessional effort of all kinds have been quickly seized and developed 
with much originality and success. Fruit growing has created them 
all and has in turn been advanced by all^ for every accumulation of 
capital promotes it. Successful toilers in all lines become planters. 
The ancestral delight of the race, to sit beneath one's own vine or 
fig tree, is nowhere more enthusiastically manifested than in Cali- 
fornia, and nowhere else does the emotion of comfort in ownership 
yield such profound and protracted satisfaction. 



AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DEVELOPMENT 53 

THE OUTLOOK OF THE INDUSTRY 

The outlook for California fruits and fruit products involves con- 
siderations of much economic interest. Though the volume is already 
large and there may be experienced now and then temporary dull- 
ness or depression in this line or that, the business is, on the whole, 
brisk and profitable. There is such a wide range in the fruits grown 
and the products made from them, and such changes in local con- 
ditions in the many purchasing States and foreign countries with 
which Californians deal, that there must be some fluctuations in the 
values of some of the supplies offered in distant market. The result 
is that first one fruit and then another one seems to be more or less 
profitable. The fact, however, that all are increasing in volume and 
the total traffic brings each year more money to the State, is a 
demonstration of the standing of the collective output. Each year 
new markets are found, both at home and abroad, and the capacity 
of old centers of distribution is shown to be greater than anticipated. 
There is every reason to expect that the products can be profitably 
multiplied. There have been secured, largely through co-operative 
efforts of growers, so many improvements in handling and trans- 
portation that distant shipment has become more safe and profitable 
and distribution far wider. It is reasonable to believe that further 
improvement in movement and reduction of cost will be realized 
and the per capita consumption in the populous parts of our own 
country proportionately advanced. In spite of all that wintry States 
can do for local supplies, California can find open markets before 
and after the short ripening season of the Eastern States for her 
early and late fruits, and can use her own midseason fruits in the 
drying and canning industries, though it is a fact that in the height 
of the Eastern fruit season a considerable quantity of California 
fruit will command the highest prices because of its exceptional size, 
beauty and keeping qualities. The citrus fruits will continue to 
supply an American product of exceptional quality and freshness, 
while prunes and other cured fruits and nuts and raisins will not 
only do this, but will push forward into larger trade abroad. The 
patriotic service rendered by California fruit producers during the 
last war, in supplying wholesome foods to the allied armies, has re- 
turned an appreciative publicity which will be of incalculable trade 
advantage in the future. The fact is that European countries can 
not grow fruit enough to supply their own people, and fruit has been 
largely a luxury. California canned and dried fruits are being wel- 
comed by the great middle classes and are likely to become a staple 
of their diet. 

The development of adjacent territory on the American continent 
and other Pacific countries may shape the future of California as a 
fruit-producing State in a way which can at present only be dreamed 
about. It should be remembered that California has a unique char- 
acter from a horticultural point of view. Not only does the State 
have a monopoly of semi-tropical conditions of the United States 
(excepting small parts of the Gulf States and Arizona), but Cali- 
fornia has command of the whole of northwest America and the 



54 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

whole of northeast Asia, not only in the supply of semi-tropical 
fruits, but in early ripening of hardy fruits as well. 

California does not grow tropical fruits, as has already been con- 
ceded in Chapter I. They must come from the islands and the trop- 
ical south coast countries. Semi-tropical fruits are, how^ever, vastly 
more important in commerce than tropical, and a region which suc- 
cessfully combines northern orchard fruits with the whole semi- 
tropical class commands the fruit trade of all accessible populous 
regions which have limited fruit capabilities. 

Prophets, far-seeing in world courses, declare that the Pacific 
ocean is to be the arena for commerce greater than the world has 
yet seen, and the Pacific coast countries are to contain the greater 
part of the world's population. This greatest quartosphere with its 
superlative opportunities and activities will have California as its 
treasure house of fruits and fruit products. During the long winter 
the citrus fruits will afford tonic and refreshment, and before hardy 
fruits bloom in northern climes the same fruits will appear from the 
early ripening districts of California. In this traffic California will 
not only be practically without a competitor, but, sitting beside the 
sea, there will also be every advantage of water transportation and 
the sustaining ocean temperatures of the fruits in transit. California 
dried and canned fruits will render acceptable diet even through 
the most Arctic stretches along which development may advance 
in North America and North Asia, while a succession of fresh fruits 
will flow to all Pacific ports throughout the year. California, too, 
will be the winter residence for all the North Pacific millionaires 
and the haven of rest and recuperation for all who are worn by 
Arctic cold or tropic heat throughout the great circle of the Pacific 
ocean. Here the arts will flourish, education attain its highest 
achievements and culture prevail. Then fruit growing both as a 
commercial enterprise and as a home delight will attain value, 
volume and perfection, of which present achievements are but a 
faint foreshadowing. 



PART TWO : CULTURAL 



CHAPTER VII 



CLEARING LAND FOR FRUIT 

The greater part of the orchard and vineyard area of this State 
was naturally almost clear for planting. The removal of large trees, 
which paid the cost of the work in firewood, or the grubbing out of 
willows on some especially rich bottom land, was about the extent 
of clearing which our earlier planters had to undertake, and many 
of them perhaps never had to lift an axe. Still there has always 
been some clearing done, here and there, ever since the earliest days, 
especially upon hill lands, the peculiar value of which for some fruits 
is generally recognized. 

Though in most cases of clearing by the actual settler himself the 
problem is merely one of muscle and persistence, using the best 
appliances one can afiford, some few hints may be given from the 
experience of others which may be useful. Spare time during the 
summer and fall can often be used to advantage with a sharp axe 
in trimming up the smaller trees, which are large enough to yield 
fencing material, and getting out posts from the redwoods and oaks, 
and rails and pickets from the pines. By thus using the waste 
material the settler can often get out enough fencing material to in- 
close his land and thus save considerable expense. Brush, too, 
which cannot be made use of, can be lopped off — in short, all the 
sharp axe work can be done in a dry time. The actual clearing, 
however, should be done in winter, when the ground is wet and soft, 
and digging is easy or "snaking out" is possible. 

Partial and Thorough Clearings. — Orchards are planted on both 
partially and thoroughly cleared land. By the former practice clear- 
ing enough is done to give space for the tree holes, the debris is 
burned up, and the trees planted. In this kind of work the stumps 
are left to be taken out at a convenient season, the object being to 
get fruit trees to growing as soon as possible. Where one is work- 
ing with little more than his own muscle, and has no capital, this 
sort of planting is better, perhaps, than not planting at all, but it 
must be borne in mind that all subsequent work will be done at a 
great disadvantage, and as cultivation is likely to be very imperfect, 
it would be a question whether in the end anything would be gained 
by such a plan. The encumbered character of the ground will, of 
course, prevent the use of the horse in cultivation until most of the 
stumps are removed. Whenever possible the clearing for fruit 
should be thorough, everything which will interfere with good cul- 
tivation removed ; roots grubbed so that as little shooting up as pos- 



55 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

sible is secured ; the ground evened up to obviate standing water, 
and, where needed, arrangements made for irrigation and drainage, 
as will be considered later. 

Removal of Standing Trees and Stumps. — Old methods of hand 
chopping, digging and burning by which the pioneers cleared their 
way from the Atlantic to the Pacific have been largely superseded 
by more efficient and cheaper methods and agencies, explosives, 
horse and man-power pullers, etc., and descriptions of their use 
have been published by the government in the interest of develop- 
ment and settlement of idle lands. Those interested in clearing 
should apply for such publications before entering upon the work.* 

Horse-Power Stump Pullers. — The use of horse-power devices 
for tree felling and stump extraction has increased considerably of 
late. One which has achieved good results is a local invention called 
a "Cahfornia Stump Puller." It is simply a specially designed cap- 
stan worked by one horse, with a wire cable five-eighths of an inch 
in diameter, an improved snatch block, chains, and a drafthook to 
unite the cable with the chains. Power is applied to the capstan 
with a sweep. It is calculated that with this device, properly ad- 
justed, one horse is enabled to produce an effect equal to the capacity 
of 60 horses without it, and that a 1,200-pound horse which can 
move a dead weight of one and a half tons for a short distance can 
move a dead weight of 90 tons with the devices employed in the 
machine. It is so rapidly adjustable that on one trial in Napa 
county eighteen stumps were pulled in eighteen minutes, long roots 
coming clear out of the ground with each stump. 

The Use of Powder. — Another means for the removal both of 
stumps and of growing trees which has come into quite wide use 
during the last few years, is high explosives, which have vastly 
cheapened the clearing of lands, where either large trees or stumps 
have to be removed. Full instructions for the use of powder are 
furnished by the agents in San Francisco, and they often send an 
expert to start the work and give instruction if there is much to be 
done. It has been estimated that the cost of handling trees and 
stumps with explosives is less than one-fifth that by hand grubbing, 
and the ratio of saving increases as the trees are larger, as powder 
is cheaper than muscle. 

Removing Shrubs and Brush. — In the case of removing shrubs 
of a somewhat tall growth, the top is made to help out the roots. 
This is done either with a good strong rope or a chain. To do this 
requires two men and a pair of horses, and two chains, each ten or 
twelve feet long. A chain should be placed around the bush some 
distance above the ground, to give leverage. If the bush is not 
removed at the first pull, start the horses in the opposite direction. 
While the driver is unfastening the chain from the chaparral, the 
second man can place the other chain around another bush, and the 



*An up-to-date review of the subject which gives due prominence to Pacific Coast 
methods is "Farmers' Bulletin 974" on "Clearing Land" — which can be had free by ap- 
plication to the Division of Publications, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



CLEARING SHRUBS AND GRAPE VINES 57 

one who gets through his work first should at once assist the other. 
In this way the horses are kept in constant employment, and neither 
of the men need lose a moment's time. This work should be done 
when the ground is thoroughly wet. 

Another rig to snake brush and small trees is contrived in this 
way : Use single and double block or shives with 1-in. diameter 
rope. On the block you pull from (the double block) use two 10-ft. 
chains with ring in one end and hook on other. Secure this to 
a good anchor bush or to three or five of them, enough to hold. 
Fasten them right down close to the ground so there is no leverage 
on them. As soon as you have pulled all you can reach in a circle 
around the anchor trees, take one anchor chain off, or start with 
one anchor chain, then hook on other, take in big circle on single 
block end. One to four chains can be used ; take two half-hitches 
as high as possible, make first chain taut ; 2nd chain 2 ft. slack ; 3rd 
chain 3 ft. slack, and so on — so your horses are pulling one bush at 
a time. Chains do not tie in hard knots when horses are pulling on 
them, as ropes do. 

A Vine Puller. — What is called a "vine puller," because it is 
used to clear off old vineyard, is also available for shrub pulling. 
Use two wagon wheels, long pole 4x6x12 pine with large strong 
iron hook on one end. Bolt the hook on, allow the end with the hook 
on to project over the axle 18 in. Bolt the pole down to axle. This 
gives you great leverage. Roll right along on the short end over 
the axle. Use a good five-eighths chain. Take double half-hitch 
around bush ; raise the pole into air, take a short tie on bush ; start 
the horse and out comes the bush. 

Roller and Plow. — Where manzanita grows upright, as on hills 
north of the bay, the same methods of extraction can be employed 
with it, first slashing ofif enough to allow adjusting the rope or chain 
a few feet above the ground. Where it grows lower, as, for exam- 
ple, on the hills of Santa Clara, the manzanita brush is gone over 
with a roller so as to break it down, and then the land is burned 
over. The roller should be rigged with a tiller (header fashion) so 
tjhat the horses can push the roller and walk over the flattened 
brush. The only object of the rolling is to smash the brush down 
so that it will burn readily. When the brush is got rid of in this 
way, the breaking plow is trusted to get rid of the roots. Horses 
should be shod with a plate of sheet iron between the shoe and hoof 
to prevent snagging, and not less than four of them used. Much of 
the Santa Clara county vine belt was cleared in that way. Of course 
this method only answers for the lighter-rooted growths ; tough- 
rooted chaparral, oak, holly, etc., must be grubbed out, unless the 
roots are snaked out by the tops, as has been described. 

Clearing Old Vineyards. — This is done on small areas by grub- 
bing and snaking as has been prescribed for the larger shrubs. 
Large vineyard clearings and removal of undesirable fruit trees are, 
however, much more cheaply done by pulling one after another with 
the tractor. Two concrete instances of procedure, after the land is 



58 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

cleared of the top growth of arms and canes by chopping, may 
be given : 

Mr. I. D. Cox of Sonoma county pulled seven acres of roots a 
day with a tractor and two men nearly as fast as the tractor travels 
in low gear. Two chains are hooked to the tractor, one man to 
each — pulling two rows per trip. The end of the chain is fastened 
to a five-foot iron rod about seven inches from its end. While the 
chain is still slack, the man pokes the short end of a rod around a 
vine and catches it over the chain while the tractor pulls out the 
vine. Then he drops the stump quickly and hooks onto the next one. 

Mr. I. T. Onstott of Sutter county used a 45-horsepower tractor 
and a "digger" which looks something like a nursery tree digger, 
having a U iron fixed to a sled of 4xl2's so its cross bar, shod with 
a cutting knife, runs deep enough underground to cut the roots 
below plow depth. A hook or "gopher" follows the cutting edge so 
that as it slides under the stumps it raises them out of the subsoil. 
After chopping the stumps off, a furrow was plowed each side of 
them, the tractor digger lifted them loose, and they were easily 
picked out and thrown onto wagons. 

Marketable Products of Clearing. — Whether any money can be 
made from the results of clearing depends altogether upon local 
markets for wood and charcoal, and the cost of transportation to 
them. From clearings near large towns enough can be sometimes 
had to pay for the work and hauling, and along railways wood can 
often be shipped with profit. This can be learned by local inquiries. 

Charcoal Burning. — Charcoal can usually be sold to advantage, 
and wood can sometimes be profitably disposed of in this way when 
it cannot be marketed for fuel. A considerable acreage of unprofit- 
able frvnt trees has been occasionally disposed of in this way. Char- 
coal is made from most kinds of wood, and sometimes stumps and 
large roots are charred. A simple process of charcoal burning is 
given by an experienced burner, as follows : 

To burn a pit of charcoal, the prime necessity is to perform the process 
of combustion with the least possible contact with air. Select a suitable 
place not too far from the dwelling, because the operation must be watched 
from time to time by night as well as by day. It is not necessary to dig 
much of a "pit" in the ground. Choose hard limbs of pine, spruce or what- 
ever wood is most available of that kind. Dry, dead limbs, if not decayed, 
take for choice. Set them up wigwam fashion, close together, fitting them 
as well as they will allow, the apex forming the chimney. Be careful to 
keep the chimney free, because the fire should be there applied to brisk 
"kindling" as far down as possible. Build round and round, taking the pre- 
caution to lay three or four straight pieces, three or four inches in diameter, 
along the ground from the outside to the center. These may have to be 
withdrawn to promote the draught. 

The wood all being in place it is now required to cover it thoroughly. 
In the absence of turf or sods, it must be thatched with leafy green boughs, 
or anything that will prevent the earth or dirt that is now heaped on from 
running through. Pack this soil covering carefully, exclude air as far as 
possible, except when the port-holes referred to near the ground are needed. 
The direction of the wind will determine which ones are to be opened. When 
the fire — after a few hours more or less, according to the materials — has 
got a good hold, close also the chimney. Visit the pit regularly night and 
day; lessen or increase the draught as may seem needed; and in a week or 



SUPPRESSING SPROUTS ON CLEARINGS ' 59 

ten days the two or three cords of wood should be turned into good hard 
coal. When uncovered water or dirt should be thrown upon coal that is too 
lively when spread out on the ground. 

Cutting to Kill Brush. — Just when to cut to kill depends upon 
the character of the growth and of the season. One conclusion 
se0ms to be that with deciduous growths the best time to cut is 
when they have just made their most vigorous growth, and this is 
in the summer — but the month to be chosen for the work will de- 
pend upon the location, though August is generally selected as the 
best time. 

In the case of evergreens, the cutting should be just before the 
coldest weather, in which they are the nearest dormant. Ever- 
greens, however, differ much in tenacity of life, for while most kinds 
are easily killed, the California redwood will endure almost any 
abuse with the axe or fire and still spring up repeatedly and per- 
sistently for years. 

The Use of Sheep and Goats on Sprouts. — On sprouting brush, 
there is, perhaps, no cheaper or more effective means of repression 
than sheep and goats. They are used after the top growth is cleared 
away instead of grubbing, if one can wait, for by the persistent cut- 
ting down of growth many small stumps and roots will decay 
enough in a year or two to be plowed out with a strong team and 
plow. 

Sage-Brush Clearing. — Desert vegetation was formerly largely 
cleared by grubbing or snaking out with a length of railroad iron 
with a heavy team at each end. Recently for large clearing a steam 
tractor has been used — the cleared brush being used for fuel. 
Hitched to the tractor was an outfit consisting of a roller to bend 
the brush down, cutters to dig it out, and a rake to collect and dump 
into windrows. The roller is made of iron cylinders about three feet 
in diameter and seven feet wide. The digger consists of three heavy 
V-shaped "weed cutters" which run underground, being supported 
on wheels hitched behind the roller. Trailing behind the digger is 
the rake, which is about 12 feet wide and runs on 7-foot wheels ; it 
is shaped like an ordinary horse hay-rake. The teeth of this ele- 
phantine rake plow through the ground some inches deep. Brush 
cannot get into the wheels, for they are lined inside with sheet iron. 

Burning of the Debris. — However the trees and underbrush may 
be wrenched from the soil, fire is the final cleaner. Where trees are 
to be worked up into fire-wood, it should be done as soon as they 
are felled, for the work is much less than after they become dry and 
hard. If it is not designed to break the land the first winter, the 
wood is left to season and it becomes lighter and easier to handle. 
The brush and roots, if no use is to be made of them, can be left to 
lie on the clearing to dry out during the following summer, and 
aftei^ the first rains of the following fall the whole area can be 
burned over. Such stumps as do not burn with the brush must be 
gathered in piles and re-fired. Burning before the first rain should 
not be attempted, unless it be in exceptional situations, because of 



50 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

the danger of communicating fire to the surrounding country, which 
is a standing danger in our dry climate. Under the present law it 
becomes necessary to secure permission from the State Forester at 
Sacramento before starting field fires in the dry season. After the 
rain, clean up the ground perfectly. 

First Crop on a Clearing. — It is the opinion of some clearers in 
the redwood region that the soil is not fit for fruit trees the first 
year after the original growth is removed, and they grow a field 
crop the first year. They claim that peas are the best corrective of 
"redwood poisoning," and fortunately in the upper redwood dis- 
trict they have a climate well suited to the pea. 

Surface Leveling and Draining. — There is often occasion to clear 
the land of stone and rocks. The latter should be blasted out of the 
way so that the land may be clear for the plow and cultivator. Once 
in a while one will come upon a stone wall enclosing an orchard in 
this State, as trim and true a wall as the most thrifty New England 
farmer can boast, but walls are not common. Our valley orchard 
lands are, as a rule, naturally as free from stone as they are from 
underbrush, but on the hills it is different. Probably the best way 
to dispose of much of the stone is to dig trenches in the natural 
water runs, put in stone, cover with small brush, and then with soil 
deep enough so the plow will not reach the brush. This disposes of 
the stone for all time, and at the same time helps to drain the soil. 
Concerning other treatment of the land after the rubbish is removed, 
P. W. Butler writes as follows : 

When water runs are wide, lateral ditches should be cut extending 
entirely through the moist areas. If during the rainy season a run is likely 
to have more water than can be conveyed properly through a covered trench, 
it should be left open and graded, so that a team can cross it, and for fifteen 
feet on each side sow to alfalfa, which will take the place of unsightly 
weeds, that would otherwise grow at the point that cannot be cultivated. 

To distribute the work more evenly through the first year buildings can 
be erected, a well dug, and the trenches done in the dry season, while all the 
grubbing, leveling, plowing and planting must be done the following season, 
as soon as the ground is sufficiently moistened. All depressions where 
water would stand should be filled, and all flat places should be graded 
until water will readily flow off, and not be retained so near the surface 
of the ground as to cause it to become soured. This leveling can be best 
done by one man and a pair of horses. Plow the adjacent elevated land 
and scrape into the places to be filled. The land is now ready for plowing, 
and should be done thoroughly, subsoiling to as great a depth as the re- 
moval of the stumps will allow. It is now well to go over the ground 
again with the scraper and level all the most elevated points so they can 
be readily reached by water in irrigating. Then cross-plow as deeply as 
possible without again subsoiling, harrow and drag, and the ground will be 
ready to plant. 

Mr. Butler writes with reference to the foothills of the Sierra 
Nevada, where irrigation must be practiced. Where irrigation is 
not used, leveling, or rather grading, may be unnecessary, but it is 
often quite desirable that there may be no depressions to retain 
surplus water. The life of the trees and ease of cultivation may 
demand this unless the soil should be light and deep enough to allow 
free drainage. 



CHAPTER VIII 

CALIFORNIA NURSERY OPERATIONS 

California nursery stock is unrivaled in growth, health and vigor. 
This is the verdict of all the visiting horticulturists, and has been 
formally declared by the victories of California tree growers at the 
World's Fairs held in this country, where the highest premiums 
have been awarded to Californians in nearly all classes in which 
they exhibited since 1885. 

The quality of the trees which can be purchased at our nurseries, 
and the reasonable rates at which they are usually sold, make it 
little worth while for the orchard planter to try to grow his own 
trees. In fact, the investment called for to purchase a good assort- 
ment of well-grown trees will be one of the best which the orchard 
planter can make. The professional grower, if he is honest and en- 
terprising, can give the purchaser the advantage of his experience 
and skill in the choice of stocks suited to his soil, varieties of fruit 
adapted to his situation, and be of assistance to him in other ways 
connected with his enterprise ; and such helps to an inexperienced 
planter or to a newcomer are very valuable. To those who may 
be possessed of limited means, or who may like to use spare time 
in growing trees, suggestions are offered. There will, however, be 
very much which can be learned only by actual experience. 

In the selection of a location for a commercial nursery there are 
matters involved which it is not proposed to discuss. Attention will 
be paid rather to matters connected with what may be called a farm 
nursery.- The first point will be the selection of a piece of ground, 
which offers proper soil, exposure, and, in most parts of the State, 
facilities for irrigation — to be used whenever necessary to get 
good growth. 

Proper Soil for Nursery. — The soil should be a mellow loam, 
easy of cultivation and not disposed to crust and crack. In all re- 
spects what one would choose as a rich, kind garden soil will answer 
well for the nursery. The soil should be moist, but thoroughly 
drained, either naturally or artificially. In this respect a soil which 
might yield fair crops of some shallow-rooted vegetables would not 
always be suitable for young trees, which, to do well, must have 
favorable conditions to send the roots to considerable depth. Good 
spots are often found in the rich loam along the banks of creeks, 
as in such situations one finds generally a deep alluvium, well 
drained by the creek. But such situations, if liable to overflow, 
should be rejected because standing water is not good for trees, 
and because the soil will be apt to be soaked with water and inac- 
cessible just at the time when the trees should be lifted for trans- 
planting to orchard. 



52 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

It is not always possible to find an ideal nursery spot on every 
ranch, but still trees may be well grown on less favorable places if 
attention is given to correcting natural defects. For example, if the 
soil be naturally heavy, it may be improved somewhat by repeated 
plowing and cultivation, during the year before starting the trees. 
If it be an adobe, its mechanical condition may be greatly improved 
by the application of a top dressing of lime at the rate of six hun- 
dred to one thousand pounds of lime to the acre. For this purpose 
"lime waste," which contains both lime and wood ashes, can be had 
cheaply at the kilns. Old plaster which may have been left from 
house repairs is excellent. Even builders' lime would not be very 
expensive, for but little would be required for so small a plot of 
land as a farm nursery would need to cover. The lime will increase 
the availability of plant food in a heavy soil as well as render it 
more friable. Heavy soil may also be improved by the addition of 
sand.- A few loads of sand will remove the tendency to crack, and 
will act as a mulch to prevent evaporation of moisture. If the soil 
be very loose and subject to too rapid drying out, the remedy will 
be moderate irrigation during the summer, but it should cease early 
enough to allow the young trees to ripen their wood before the 
frosts of autumn. Mulches of various light, fine materials, rotted 
straw and the like, may be used to advantage among the young 
seedlings in preventing drying out of the soil, if the plot is to be 
hand-worked, but such materials are apt to be in the way of neat, 
thorough work with the horse. A mulch of sand is not open to this 
objection. 

Land which has been in cultivation for garden or field crops is 
to be preferred over a newly-cleared land. It is often the case that 
soil from which old stumps or shoots have recently been removed 
has become soured from the process of decay in the dead wood. 
Although the organic matter from decay of woody fiber tends to 
enrich the soil afterwards, certain acids are formed if the land lies 
without cultivation. These are not favorable to the growth of young 
roots. This evil quality in the soil is removed by cultivation and 
aeration, or may be corrected by the application of lime. This state 
of soil is most complained of in connection with old stumps and 
roots of oak trees. 

Situation and Exposure. — Warmth in the soil is necessary to a 
good growth, and a good year's growth is essential to the production 
of a satisfactory tree. Drainage contributes notably to the warmth 
of the soil. Exposure is also of importance. Plenty of sunshine and 
protection from cold winds are to be secured. Sometimes a little 
elevation is desirable. It would be a serious mistake to seek moist, 
low land if the piece lies at the bottom of a little valley or depres- 
sion where the cold air settles during the night and frosts are fre- 
quent. In such cases choose higher ground. Of course, in broad, 
open valleys there is not this objection, for such seasonable frosts 
as may be expected there are not injurious to deciduous nursery 
stock. The greatest nurseries in the State are in the open valleys, 
not on the lowest ground, however, in all cases, but on what would 



GROWING NURSERY STOCKS FROM SEEDS 53 

be called good rich valley land. There are, however, situations in 
the thermal belts in which the temperature does not fall low enough 
to check growth of deciduous trees and cause the leaves to drop. 
In such cases it has been found desirable to select lower and colder 
ground for the nursery of deciduous trees. 

Preparation for Nursery Ground. — The best preparation for nur- 
sery ground is the growth, the previous season, of a cultivated or 
hoed crop. This will secure frequent working of the soil, thorough 
pulverization of the clods, etc. The produce of the hoed crop should 
thus pay the cost of putting the land in good condition, at least. 
Where the retention of moisture is an object, as is in some parts of 
the State where the annual rainfall is sometimes small and no 
facilities for irrigation provided, it will perhaps pay better in the 
end to keep the land in bare fallow during the previous summer; 
but there must be frequent and thorough cultivation, keeping the 
surface always mellow, or more moisture may be lost by evaporation 
than a hoed crop would require for its growth. Properly cultivated 
fallow soil will have a moisture within a few inches of the surface, 
while unworked soil adjoining will be baked hard and dry to a 
depth of several feet. During the winter immediately preceding the 
planting, the green stuff should be allowed to grow for a time, but 
should be plowed under before it gets high enough to interfere with 
perfect turning of smooth furrows. The decay of this green crop is 
of advantage to the soil. Another plowing in the spring and a 
thorough harrowing will leave the ground in good condition to 
receive the pits or root grafts, as the case may be. 

Growth of Seedlings for the Nursery. — Fruit trees are produced 
from buds and root grafts upon seedlings locally grown or imported. 
The kinds of seedlings preferred for different fruits are discussed 
in the special chapter given to each fruit. 

It is usual to take seeds from sources where they can be collected 
with the least trouble. Apple seeds are washed out from the pomace 
of the cider press ; apples and pears from the coring and peelings of 
canneries and drying establishments ; pits of the stone fruits are 
derived from the same source. Supplies can usually be purchased 
from such establishments at a moderate cost. The trouble is that 
from such supplies one is apt to get seeds and pits from all varieties, 
possessing different degrees of health and vigor. There is just as 
much to be gained from selecting the seed from which to grow good 
strong stocks for fruit trees as there is in selecting good garden or 
field seed. One can generally get good peach pits, for it is easy to 
have the order filled when the cannery is running on strong-growing 
yellow varieties, for these are believed to be most vigorous, and yet 
some claim much preference for pits from vigorous seedling trees, 
and make extra efforts to secure them. Wherever it is possible, and 
if one is only to produce a small lot of trees, it is practicable to 
select from the fruit the seeds for planting. Not only is there great 
difference in the strength of different varieties, but individual trees 
vary greatly. If one is taking seeds from an old orchard to start 
his nursery with, he can take pains to get his seed from his strong- 



54 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

est trees, and thus secure also that which is probably best adapted 
to his locality. 

Apple and Pear Seedlings. — For a small lot of apple and pear 
trees the seed can be best sown in boxes. Select plump pips and 
keep in moist sand, from the time they are taken from the fruit 
until sowing. Fill the boxes, which should be three or four inches 
deep, with good garden mold, cover the seed about half an inch, 
and then cover the soil lightly with chaff or fine straw to prevent 
the surface from drying out. Be sure that the boxes have cracks 
or holes in the bottom for drainage, and the whole is kept moist, but 
not wet. When the seedlings have grown to the height of three 
inches they can be set out in the nursery rows as one would set out 
cabbage plants — if the work is carefully done and growing condi- 
tions favorable. The easier and more common way is to "stratify" 
or alternate layers of seed and damp sand in the storage boxes and 
sow in nursery rows in the open ground when the soil is in good 
condition (in February or March usually) and the seeds swollen or 
showing sprouts. 

Cherry Seedlings. — There are different ways of handling pits of 
stone fruits to prepare them for setting out in the open ground, 
which will be described. The cherry is grown from pits of two wild 
varieties; one is commonly called the "Black Mazzard." It is the 
common wild cherry of the East, and is the original type of what 
are known as the Heart and Bigarreau types of cherries. The other 
is the "Mahaleb," a European wild species, which is used in the 
East, where it thrives better than the Mazzard, as it is hardier stock. 
In this State the Mahaleb does not seem to have much dwarfing 
efifect, as trees on that stock in this State over twenty-five years old 
are twenty-five inches in diameter of trunk. The Mahaleb, however, 
ripens its wood earlier, and for this reason may be valuable in the 
colder parts of the State. It is also freer from root trouble by ex- 
tremes of wetness and drouth in the soil, and is largely used on low 
lands. The Mazzard is, however, chiefly used in California. A way 
of treating cherry stones is that given by W. W. Smith, a pioneer 
cherry grower of Vacaville : 

The fruit of the Mazzard should be allowed to get perfectly ripe on the 
tree, then gathered and let lie in a heap for three or four days, so that they 
may be partially or wholly freed from the pulp by washing them in water. 
They should then be spread out in the shade and stirred frequently for 
about twenty-four hours. This will give the outside of the pit time to dry 
sufficiently to prevent molding, while the kernel itself will remain fresh and 
green. They should then be placed in moist (not wet) sand and kept so 
until the rains set in in the fall, when they can be planted in drills, in good, 
rich, mellow soil, prepared the previous spring and kept clean of weeds 
through the summer, ready for the purpose. They should never be allowed 
to get perfectly dry; and the reason for it is that we have but little or no 
freezing and thawing weather in this country to cause the pits to open; but 
if they are kept constantly moist it answers the same purpose as freezing. 
The seeds of the Mahaleb cherry will sprout with less difficulty, but the 
same rules for keeping the Mazzards will apply to them. 

Other stock for the cherry will be discussed in the chapter on 
that fruit. 



TREATMENT OF PITS OF STONE FRUITS 55 

Citrus Fruits. — The propagation of citrus fruits will be described 
in detail in Chapters XXXIII, XXXIV and XXXV. 

The Larger Stone Fruits. — In handling pits of the larger stone 
fruits, apricot, peach, plum, etc., the chief requisite is to prevent 
drying and great hardening of the pit. Some plant in the fall and 
trust to natural conditions to start the seedling in the spring, but 
this interferes with the cultivation of the ground, and leaves the 
seedling to grow in soil which has perhaps been puddled by heavy 
winter rains. There must also be much hand work done to clear 
the rows from weeds. It is much better to keep the pits from drying 
by covering with sand moderately moist, hasten the sprouting by 
appropriate treatment toward spring, and then plant out in thor- 
oughly prepared soil, and they will make a satisfactory growth. 
The following method, by D. J. Parmele, of Vacaville, has given 
good results : 

Keep the pits out of the sun until the rains commence in the fall, then 
put them into a box about a foot deep with openings at the bottom for drain- 
age, and scatter sand or fine earth through them, putting about two inches 
on top, and place them under the eaves of a building on the south side, 
where they will get well soaked every time it rains. If there should be a 
long dry spell during the winter, water them a little. About March they will 
open and sprout. Then take a plow and open a deep furrow in loose, mellow 
ground, and with a hoe pull about two-thirds of the dirt back into the 
furrow, breaking the clods, and making it fine, the same as you would if you 
expected to plant onion seed there. Drop the sprouted pits in straight line, 
and cover two inches. On account of the extra work in preparing the 
ground, the trees will be large enough to bud in July. 

Another way is to spread out the pits on a smooth piece of 
ground and cover with sacks, and over these a layer of straw three 
or four inches thick to retain moisture. The pits may be planted 
out as soon as they crack open, although no harm will be done if 
they are allowed to lie until the sprouts are well out. 

Another method which has been especially recommended for 
treatment for almonds is the following : Lay boards upon the ground 
and cover them with an inch of sand ; spread on this a layer of 
almonds and then another inch of sand, and so on. Keep the pile 
wet, and in three weeks of warm weather they will burst open. Plant 
in drills one inch deep and put over them a light coat of rotten straw. 

If from any cause the pits have become quite dry, they should be 
soaked in water two or three days before planting. 

Nut Tree Seedlings. — In growing nut-tree seedlings, much the 
same methods are followed as with pits of stone fruits. There are 
methods described in detail by California growers which should be 
given. As has been said, the nuts may be planted at any time after 
ripening, in the milder parts of the State, if the grower will under- 
take the greater care and cultivation. On some light soils where the 
rainfall is not excessive, this is not much trouble. Felix Gillet, of 
Nevada City, gives this as his method : 

The nuts may be planted as soon as gathered, though in Nevada City it is 
too cold to plant them in the fall, for the frost in winter would surely lift 
the nuts right out of the ground. For keeping and sprouting walnuts, I 



55 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

throw into the bottom of a box one inch deep of sand; then a layer of nuts, 
put in another inch of sand, and another layer of nuts, and so on to one or 
two inches from the top. Then water well with a sprinkler and water again 
during the winter whenever the sand gets too dry. The sand has to be 
pretty well saturated with water, especially from the first of January down 
to planting time, which is in February, March or April, according to local- 
ities. The latter part of March or first week in April is best for Nevada 
City. The nuts are planted in drills and covered to a depth of two or three 
inches. 

In propagating chestnuts it is always better to select for seed the largest, 
finest and healthiest nuts; in the fall or beginning of winter the nuts have to 
be planted in a box of damp sand, by layers, the box being kept in a cellar. 
The nuts may be stored in a hole in the open ground, a layer of chestnut 
leaves being first thrown in the bottom of the hole, on top of that a layer 
of nuts, then another layer of leaves, and so on to the top, which has to be 
properly covered with two or three inches of earth so as to prevent the frost 
injuring the nuts. In February or March, according to location, the nuts are 
taken out and planted in drills to a depth of three or four inches; less for 
smaller seed like American chestnuts. 

In growing seedlings of English walnuts, Mr. J. Luther Bowers, 
of Santa Clara, has shown that water-soaking of nuts may make it 
unnecessary to undertake storage in damp sand, if the nuts are of the 
last crop. He describes the method as follows : 

The nuts should be large and thin shelled and should be of last year's 
crop. To ascertain this, break a few and split the kernel open at the germ 
end, or the point where the root starts. If the meat of the kernel shows a 
clear color they are of last year's crop, but if the flesh shows any discolora- 
tion they are old and will not germinate. I have often got hold of a lot that 
were mixed, old and new together. Never risk a lot of this kind, for failure 
will follow. After the nuts have been selected place them in some kind of a 
tin vessel; a five-gallon oil can, with the top removed is just the thing. Then 
cover them with hot water at not over 110 degrees F. Let them remain in 
this water for 24 hours and plant at once, keeping them in the water all 
the time. Do not let them become the least bit dry, and be sure the soil is 
moist, and put every nut in with the sharp point exactly straight down. The 
root starts from this point and will go straight down, and if not molested 
will the first year be about three times the length of the top; that is, if the 
top grows one foot, the straight tap root will be three feet or more long, and 
will be from three-fourths to an inch thick where it grew out of the nut, 
tapering both up and down. 

Tribble Brothers, of Elk Grove, give the following as their prac- 
tice with native black walnuts : 

Gather the nuts as soon as most of them have dropped from the trees and 
put them in a trench. Cover with leaves, and on the leaves put a thin layer 
of earth, leaving them until sprouted and ready to plant in rows. When 
ready to plant, assort the nuts according to the growth of the sprouts, and 
as we find the longest sprouts make the most rapid-growing trees, and by 
selecting we can get even growth in the nursery rows. In our soil we plant 
the nuts about five inches deep. 

Purchased Seedlings. — Formerly a very large proportion of some 
kinds of the cherry, pear and apple trees produced in this State were 
worked upon imported seedling stock. These stocks were cheap and 
being carefully graded by sizes were very convenient and popular. 
Such foreign seedlings were excluded by the National Quarantine 
act of 1919 and California grown seedlings are now supplied in ex- 
cellent quality by those who make a specialty of producing them. 



TREES FROM SEEDS AND CUTTINGS 



67 



It is easy enough to grow peach, ahnond, apricot, and Myrobalan 
seedlings, but small seeds, like apples and pears, often do not show 
up well in the spring, especially if the soil is of a kind that crusts 
over with rain and sunshine. Purchased seedlings are planted in 
nursery rows in the winter, as has already been described, and 
budded in the following summer, grafting the next spring where the 
buds fail. If the seedlings are large they are often root-grafted at 
once, and then one summer in the nursery gives a tree suitable for 
planting out. 

Fruit Trees from Cuttings. — It is feasible to grow a number of 
kinds of fruit trees from cuttings, but it is not desirable in many 
cases to do it. Trees grown from a graft or bud in a seedling root 
are much better. The root system of a seedling is naturally stronger 
and more symmetrical. The roots from a cutting start out at the 
bottom and spread out horizontally and irregularly. This style of 
a root system is expressively named "duck-foot roots," and they 
do not give the tree a deep, strong hold on the soil. Trees can, how- 
ever, be multiplied very fast from cuttings. Notable instances of 
this are the Myrobalan plum and the Leconte pear. Cuttings of 
deciduous trees should be taken from well-matured wood of the 
previous season's growth, and planted in rows and in well-prepared 
soil, as has already been described for the sowing of fruit tree seeds. 
The cuttings should be taken before the sap begins running in the 
winter. A cutting about ten inches long, four-fifths of its length 
buried in the ground, will answer. Be sure that the ground is firmed 
well at the base of the cutting, but keep the surface loose. Small 
wood is better than large, though, of course, the extreme ends of 
twigs should be rejected usually. Cultivation of cuttings is the same 
as that of seedlings, and budding, when the cuttings are to be used 
as stocks, is also governed by the same rules. 

The orange and lemon can be grown from cuttings, but the work 
is done during the summer while the ground is warm. Cut from 
wood one or two years old ; set in the open ground with partial shade 
and give plenty of water, but be sure that there is free escape for 
surplus water. Cuttings started in the warm weather and given 
partial shade and plenty of irrigation are very apt to succeed. This 
method of growing these fruits is not, however, in Avide use or favor. 

The propagation of the grape, olive and fig from cuttings will be 
considered in the chapters on those fruits. 

Planting Out in Nursery. — For planting out in nursery, the term 
"spring" is given as the proper time, but in California it must be 
remembered that spring is not any definite division of the year. 
"Spring weather" comes from the first of February to the first of 
May, according to the latitude or elevation or exposure resulting 
from local topography. Cherries may be ripe in Vaca Valley before 
fruit trees put out leaves in Modoc county ; and between these ex- 
tremes there are advents of spring in other places according to the 
situation. These facts are more fully set forth in the chapter on 
climate. Spring must be detected in the behavior of vegetation and 
not by the calendar. When the tree buds swell and the leaves ap- 



68 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



pear, spring has come for that locality. But whether one can plant 
his nursery then or not will depend upon the character of the soil 
and the condition of the rainfall for that season. This varies much, 
from year to year. As a rule, however, in most parts where fruit is 
grown at present in large quantities, the heavy cold rains will be 
over by the first of February, and then nursery operations can com- 
mence if the soil is in good condition. If not, the planter must wait 
until the soil is dry enough to vv^ork nicely. There will, of course, 
be heavy rains after the first of February ; but they will only necessi- 
tate cultivation to loosen the soil, if the nursery ground is well 
situated for drainage, and if it is not it should not be used for this 
purpose. 

Supposing the ground has been deeply plowed and thoroughly 
harrowed, as has been already described, the laying out of the 
ground is the next operation. Everything should be done with a 
view to the use of the horse in cultivation. The rows should be laid 
out as straight as possible. Some use a plow furrow ; some an ar- 
rangement like a corn-marker, with two cultivator teeth set four feet 
apart ; some stretch a line, to get the pits or root grafts as true to it 
as possible, and some trust to the furrow for straightness. No rule 
can be laid down for means to be employed ; the result must depend 
upon the eye and skill of the individual. Some people can hardly 
shoot a straight line with a gun. Each must do the best he can in 
this respect. 

There is a difference in practice as to distance between the rows 
in nursery. The usual distance is four feet, but others claim that it 
is better to make the rows six feet apart, especially where no irriga- 
tion is practised, as this gives the young trees more room, and if the 
ground is kept thoroughly cultivated, as it should be, it gives the 
roots a greater supply of moisture to draw upon. In growing a small 
lot of trees, where there is plenty of land, it is, of course, desirable 
to give them every advantage in the way of facilities for growth, but 
on the other hand, an overgrown tree is not desirable. Thrift and 
strength must be sought rather than size. 

At the ends of the rows spaces of about twelve feet should be left 
as turning-ground for the horse when cultivating, and as a roadway. 
The length of nursery rows depends upon the taste of the grower. 
It is convenient to have alleys wide enough for a horse and cart at 
intervals of three hundred feet, but in small nurseries the head-lands 
would probably give all the access required. 

The depth for planting seeds and pits must be regulated by the 
size of the seed and the character of the soil, as is always laid down 
by the authorities, and in this State another condition must be made, 
and that is the climate or weather conditions prevailing in the 
locality. Where the rainfall is generally light and the soil loose, seed 
must be planted deeper than where good spring showers are to be 
expected. In heavy soils seeds must be planted shallower than in 
light, even with the same rainfall. Suggestions of depth will be 
found in connection with the discussion of particular fruits. 

During the spring months the cultivator must be used as often as 
may be required to keep the weeds from getting too high, or the soil 



ADEQUATE MOISTURE FOR NURSERY TREES 59 

from becoming too densely packed by heavy rains, but the ground 
should never be worked when too wet. It requires some watchful- 
ness and promptitude to use the cultivator just at the right time. 

Nursery Irrigation. — In parts of the State where the rainfall is 
adequate, cultivation thorough, the soil sufficiently retentive, and 
atmospheric conditions favorable, the seedling will make its growth 
without irrigation, and some nurseries are on ground not provided 
at all with irrigation facilities. In other parts of the State irrigation 
is necessary. Water should be applied sparingly, and yet enough to 
keep the seedlings in healthy growing condition. This is shown by 
the leaves, which should not droop or curl. Excessive irrigation 
should be guarded against, because a soft, excessive growth is very 
undesirable. Water is a good thing, and in some cases a very neces- 
sary thing, but the use of it should be wisely regulated. At budding 
it is necessary that the sap should be free and the bark slip easily. 
To foster this condition it is sometimes desirable to give a watering 
a few days before budding commences. Water should be applied by 
running it through shallow furrows between the rows, and the culti- 
vator should follow as soon as the ground is dry enough to work 
freely. ' 



CHAPTER IX . . . 

BUDDING AND GRAFTING 

If the nursery ground has been well worked and the seed properly 
handled, the growth of the seedling will be strong and rapid. If an 
early start was had and other conditions favorable, some kinds will 
be ready for budding in June, and the production of what are called 
"June buds," will be described presently. In ordinary practice, 
however, budding will come later, and the budding season extends 
from July to October. The weight of the budding of deciduous trees 
is generally done in August and September. 



BUDDING 

The process of budding, as employed on all the common fruit 
trees, is very simple. It consists in lifting the bark and inserting a 
bud from another tree in such a way that the inner bark of the bud 
shall come in contact with the layer of growing wood in the stock, 
and then it will be quickly knit to it by the new cell-growth if the 
bark is closed around the inserted bud closely enough to prevent the 
air from drying the two surfaces at the point of contact. In the 
engraving 1 is the cutting or "bud stick" from the tree of the kind 
into which it is desired to transform the seedling. This cutting is 
usually made from the growth of the present season, which has well- 
formed buds at the axils of the leaves, although in some cases older 
dormant buds may be used, as will appear in the discussion of the 
different fruits. If buds are desired to mature early, pinch off the 
ends of the growing shoots from which they are to be taken. Suck- 
ers and so-called "water-sprouts" should not be used, but rather 
well-formed wood from the branches of the tree. It is requisite that 
the buds be taken from a vigorous healthy tree of the variety de- 
sired. But sticks can be carried or sent considerable distances if 
packed in damp moss or other material to prevent drying, but care 
must be taken not to enclose too much water or decay will be pro- 
moted. Fresh shoots in tight tin boxes without wet packing are 
safer and carry very long distances. Sealing the ends with grafting 
wax is also a good precaution against drying out. 

Budding knives can be bought at all seed stores and cutlery estab- 
lishments. They have a thin, round-ended blade at one end of the 
handle, and at the other end the bone is thinned down, or a bone 
blade inserted. The former is for cutting and the latter for lifting 
the bark of the stock into which the bud is to be placed. Armed 
with a bud stick and such a knife, the "budder" starts in upon a 
row of seedlings. Bending the seedling over a little and holding it 
between his left arm and his left leg, he reaches down for a smooth 
place on the bark as near the ground as convenient to work, and 
makes vertical and horizontal cuts as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 in the 
engraving, with the bark slightly lifted and ready for the insertion 



BUDDING FRUIT TREES ILLUSTRATED 



1 A Stick of bud wood. 2 Cutting the bud 





4 Transverse incision 5 Inserting the bud 6 Inserted bud ready 

for tying. 






7 Waxed cloth ready 8 Waxed cloth tightly 9 Bud staked and tied, 
for twisting. twisted. 



72 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



of the bud. Next he cuts from his bud stick a bud, as shown at 2. 
This carries with it, on the back, a small portion of the wood of the 
bud stick as well as the bud and bark. It was once claimed that this 
wood should be carefully dug out, but in budding most kinds of trees 
it is not necessary ; in fact, it may be better to leave it in ; such at 
any rate is the general practice. The point of the bud is now inserted 
at the opening at the top of the slit in the bark of the stock and 
pushed down into place, as shown in figure 5. To handle the bud, the 
part of the leaf stem which is left on is of material assistance. No- 
thing remains now but to apply the ligature which is to hold down 
the bark around the bud. 

There are various ways of tying in the bud. Any way will do 
which holds down the bark closely, but not too tightly. Different 
materials are also used, soft cotton twine, stocking yarn, strips of 
cotton cloth, candle wicking, etc. The last-named is perhaps the best 
material, on all accounts, although strips of cheap calico bear evenly 
upon the bark and do very good work. The use of twine is speedy, 
but the strands bearing upon a narrow surface, and not being elastic, 
they are apt to do injury by cutting into the bark unless carefully 
watched and loosened. The fiber from basswood bark was formerly 
largely used, but has given place to the other materials named, 
which are more handily obtained. The buds must be examined 
about a week or ten days after the insertion, and the ligature loos- 
ened, for otherwise it will cut into the rapidly-growing stock. Some- 
times trees are badly injured by neglect in this particular. 

In making June buds, where immediate growth of the bud is de- 
sired, some growers make a hard knot with the cord around the 
stock, above the bud, and then use the loose ends to tie the bud. 
When the binding around the bud is loosened, the hard knot remains 
on the stock, girdles it, and forces the sap into the bud. Thin wire, 
known to nurserymen as "label wire," is also used for this purpose. 

In going through the nursery row, all seedlings which are large 
enough are budded at once. In going through the row again to look 
to the bands, if the bud is seen to be fresh looking, it is considered 
to have "taken." In stocks where the first bud has dried up, another 
is inserted lower down. Sometimes seedlings which were too small 
to hold a bud at the first working over are given a bud later in the 
season, or left for taking up for root grafting in the winter. 

In nursery practice the budder does not stop to tie his buds, but 
is followed in the row by another man, who carries the tying ma- 
terial, and does this part of the work. 

In selecting buds, one must be sure that he gets leaf buds, and 
not fruit buds only. In taking buds from some kinds of trees which 
bear on new wood, he may be obliged to take both fruit and leaf buds 
together. This will work well if care is taken not to rub off the leaf 
bud. It is rather easier to work with buds from young trees not yet 
in bearing, but there is always danger that these may not be of the 
desired variety. 

The common method of budding thus described is used on all 
common orchard fruits. Special styles of budding for special fruits 
will be described in the chapters treating of those fruits. 



GRAFTING IN NURSERY AND ORCHARD 73 

' Usually the budded trees are allowed to stand in the nursery row 
with no other treatment that year than the insertion and care of the 
bud, the latter remaining dormant until the next spring. Then, as 
soon as the sap begins to swell the buds on the stock, the top is cut 
off down to about two inches above the bud, and all growth is kept 
off except that of the inserted bud. When that has grown out about 
twelve inches, the stub is cut off to about three-quarters of an inch 
or less from the bud, and the wood is quickly grown over by the 
bark. As there are apt to be dormant buds on the stock below the 
inserted bud, the trees have to be examined from time to time, and 
all such suckers removed. This is the common practice with budded 
trees. Exceptions will be noticed presently in connection with defini- 
tions of different kinds of trees known to the trade. 

Spring Budding. — What has been said in reference to budding 
applies to the use of dormant buds. It is also possible to work with 
what is called a "pushing bud." This process consists of keeping 
bud-sticks alive and dormant by burying them in the ground until 
the sap is starting well in the stock in the spring, and then putting 
them in, trimming oft* the top of the stock so as to force the bud into 
growth. In this way the grower of a rare variety may secure trees 
for planting out the following winter, or he may secure a stock of 
buds for fall budding and thus multiply his stock of a desirable 
variety very rapidly. A modification of this method consists in tak- 
ing buds in the spring when they have grown out even half an inch, 
and inserting them by the usual method of lifting the bark, when the 
sap is flowing well in the stock. Then cut off about half the stock, 
so as not to give the bud too much sap at first, and afterward, when 
it is seen to have taken well, the balance of the stock is cut off near 
the bud. This method gives a tree the first season and saves a year 
over dormant budding. Shade and protection from dry wind are 
desirable. 

Another process of getting a small tree the first summer is 
"June-budding," which will be described later. 



GRAFTING 

Grafting, like budding, consists in bringing the growing wood 
(inner bark or alburnum) of the scion into contact with the same 
layer of the stock. It can be applied to any part of the tree, from 
the topmost branch to the lowest root, as is the case when new trees 
are made from scions and root fragments. Thus grafting pertains 
both to the production of young trees for planting out and to the 
transformation of old trees bearing undesirable fruit into producers 
of better varieties. 

Grafting for the production of young trees is first in order. In- 
stead of budding the seedling during the first summer of its growth, 
it may be allowed to complete its season's growth, and drop its 
leaves. When thus dormant the young trees are taken from the 
ground, the roots rinsed off with water if the ground is wet and 
sticky, or merely shaken free from clinging earth if in a dry time. 



74 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 






Cleft Graft. 



Bark Graft Saddle Graft. Wedge Graft. 





Whip Graft. Bad and Good Whip Graft. 



Side Graft. 



MAKING AND USING GRAFTING WAX 75 

Enough trees are dug at once to graft at a sitting. The grafting can 
be done at the work bench in the tool-house or barn, and if one is 
pressed with other daylight work, it may be done by lamplight at the 
kitchen table, if the housewife can be conciliated for the muss it will 
make. ) 

Care of Scions. — The scions should be previously selected, and 
whether taken from trees on the place or brought from near or dis- 
tant sources away from the farm, should have been placed as soon 
as procured in moist earth on the north side of the house or other 
building, where they will keep cool and damp until one is ready to 
use them. In parts of this State where the ground is apt to freeze, it 
is necessary to keep scions in the cellar with their butts covered with 
moist sand, but over most of the area of California nothing more is 
needed than to put them down in earth at the base of a tree or on the 
north side of a building, with, perhaps, a box or barrel inverted over 
them to keep out mice and other intruders. Care must be taken not 
to let them dry up. If it is desirable for any reason to keep scions 
dormant long into the spring or summer, of course storage in a cool 
cellar is better, for even in ground the scions wall burst into leaf 
after a warm spell of spring weather unless they are wholly buried 
some depth in the ground which will greatly prolong dormancy. A 
place must of course be selected where no water will stand in the 
soil. 

In selecting wood for scions, as for bud sticks, never take water 
shoots or suckers that start from the body of the tree and push up 
through the older branches, but always give the preference to sound, 
fully-matured wood, from the lower or nearly horizontal branches. 
Careful experiments have shown that trees grown from such scions 
are more likely to take on a low, spreading habit than those from the 
central or upper branches. The scions should be tied in bundles 
with a stout cord ; and a piece of shingle, with the name of the variety 
written plainly and deeply thereon, should be tied in with each 
bundle. 

Grafting Wax. — In grafting, a wood grafting wax is a requisite. 
The ingredients are mixed in different proportions by different 
growers. A few recipes which are known to give good results are 
as follows : 

Two lbs. resin; 1 lb. beeswax, 1 quart linseed oil; 4 tablespoonfuls tur- 
pentine. 

One lb. beeswax; 5 lbs. resin; 1 pint linseed oil; 1 oz. lampblack. 

One lb. beeswax; 5 lbs. resin; 1 pint linseed oil; 1 pint flour — the flour 
stirred in after the other ingredients have boiled together and cooled some- 
what. 

AH these mixtures are made with the aid of gentle heat, and 
during grafting the wax must be kept warm enough to apply easily 
with a small brush. To do this a heater can be made by removing 
the top of a five-gallon oil can or a blasting powder can and making 
a hole for draft in one side near the bottom. A slow fire can be kept 
going to heat the wax-pot which is suspended from a rod across the 



75 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

top. Sometimes a smaller can is used and a small oil lamp used as 
a heater under the wax container. A wire handle makes this outfit 
portable. A very neat small wax heater may be made of a common 
lantern — a funnel-shaped tin cylinder put in place of the glass globe, 
the lower end being of the same diameter as the bottom of the globe. 
The top is about five inches in diameter and a small can containing 
the wax is set down in it. The wax should not be so hot as to run 
too easily, but just right to spread well. 

As a substitute for all the old grafting-waxes, asphaltum, "Grade 
D," has recently been widely and successfully used. It is kept warm 
enough to spread well. Many use the asphaltum pure ; others prefer 
addition of resin — one part of the resin to three or four parts of 
asphaltum, according to different grafters' experiences. The two 
substances are melted together over a slow heat. The resin over- 
comes the running tendency of the asphaltum in hot weather. A 
good grafting wax is also made by melting together four parts by 
weight of asphaltum to one of parafifine. 

Grafting is greatly facilitated by the use of strips of waxed cloth 
or waxed paper, the latter being quite good enough for grafts, which 
are set low enough to be protected by a ground covering; also for 
root grafts. This waxed paper is made by spreading a thin coat of 
wax, with a brush, upon tough, thin wrapping paper, cutting up the 
paper, when cold, with a sharp knife, on a board, into strips about 
an inch wide. Waxed cloth is made by dipping cheap cotton cloth 
into hot wax, pulling the pieces between the edges of two boards to 
take out as much wax as possible, and when the cloth is cold, tearing 
it up into half-inch strips for small grafts or wider strips for larger 
grafts. When grafting is going on indoors, these strips hanging near 
the stove are kept in good, soft condition for use. 

There are grafting preparations which do not require heating, but 
remain in a semi-fluid state, and then become very hard by contact 
with the air. The following is a popular French preparation : 

Melt one pound of resin over a gentle fire. Add to it one ounce of beef 
tallow, and stir it well. Take it from the fire, let it cool down a little, and 
then mix it with a tablespoonful of spirits of turpentine, and after that add 
about seven ounces of very strong alcohol. The alcohol cools it down so 
rapidly that it will be necessary to put it once more on the fire, stirring it 
constantly. Great care is necessary to avoid igniting the alcohol. 

This wax is easily prepared, and when well corked will keep for 
years, always ready. It is put on the wounded part of the tree, very 
thin, and soon becomes as hard as stone. Thus it is valuable not only 
for grafting, but for covering the scars caused by removing limbs in 
pruning. It is, however, rather an amateur's recourse, as it is rather 
expensive for large operations for which asphaltum is used. 

Cleft Grafting, — Where various-sized stocks are to be used, as 
will be the case with a bunch of home-grown seedlings, different 
styles of grafting must be used. Where the stock is much larger 
than the scion, as is apt to be the case with California seedlings, the 
cleft graft will be simplest. Cut off the top smoothly above the root 
crown and then split the top of the stock, as shown in the engraving. 



METHODS OF GRAFTING DESCRIBED yj 

Then prepare the scion by whittling it to wedge-shape at the lower 
end. Open the slit in the stock with a little wedge and insert the 
scion so that its inner bark matches with the inner bark of the stock, 
something as shown in the second figure. It does not matter whether 
the outside of the scion is flush with the outside of the stock or not; 
the vital point is to get the growing layers, just inside the barks, in 
contact with each other, and, to be sure of this it may be well to give 
the scion a slight diagonal pitch, for if the barks cross each other, 
this desirable contact is sure to be made. It is well to make the side 
of the wedge of the scion which goes nearer to the center of the stock 
a little thinner than the outside. 

A scion for a root graft is cut longer than for use in the top of 
the tree, for in planting, the point of grafting is placed a little way 
underground. Such scions are usually cut with four or five buds. 
After the scion is in place, it only remains to wrap it closely with a 
piece of waxed cloth or paper, in such a way that all the cut surfaces 
are covered, extending the wrapper a little below the split in the 
root. Paint over the wrapper with warm wax put on with a brush, 
put a little on the top of the scion, and the graft is complete. 

Side Grafting. — Another method which prevents splitting the 
stock is the side graft, shown in the accompanying figure. It con- 
sists in bending the stock to one side and cutting in diagonally with 
a thin-bladed, sharp knife, a little more than half way through the 
stock. Into this open cvit insert the scion so that the inner barks 
touch; then allowing the stock to straighten up, hold the scion 
firmly. Covering with a wax band drawn tight makes a good job, 
and such grafts make as good growth as the buds set the previous 
summer. This method can be used with stems or branches up to an 
inch in diameter, and is essentially the same, as will be mentioned 
later, as a side graft for working over old trees. In this style of 
grafting, a stub of three inches or more may be left above the graft, 
and to this the graft can be tied to prevent blowing out if it makes 
a strong growth. Afterward the stub is cut back with a sloping cut 
and waxed or painted to prevent checking. 

Whip Grafting in the Stem. — Grafting above the root or in the 
stem of the stock when stock and scion are about the same size, is 
done by tongue or whip grafting. The accompanying sketch shows 
a whip graft in the stem of the stock. Grafts up to an inch in 
diameter can be made in this way, but it is generally used for smaller 
wood. Care must be taken to secure proper contacts of the inner 
barks at least on one side of the stock. After pushing the parts 
together, a wax band holds them firmly in place, or the joint may be 
simply tied and painted over with wax. 

A Root Graft. — When the root stock and the scion are about the 
same size, the tongue graft is also used, as shown in the figure. In 
making this both the stock and scion are given a sloping cut of about 
the same length, and a secondary cut made in each. When the two 
are put together the wood "tongues in," or interlocks as shown in 
the engraving. The object of this is to make more points of contact 



78 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



for the inner barks of root and scion, and at the same time to inter- 
lock the two more firmly. In putting the two together, if the stock 
is slightly larger than the scion, be sure to put the scion so that the 
inner bark contact is made, and this will bring the scion a little to 
one side of the center. Bind with the wax band, and paint with wax 
as in the case of the former graft. 

In large nursery practice expert grafters have come of late years 
to make this root graft without wax, merely tying in the graft. For 
amateur work at home it is much safer to use the wax. 

Grafting in the root, where the root is much larger than the scion, 
may be done without splitting the root by cutting or sawing out a 
triangular piece on the side of the root (smoothing the saw-cut with 
a sharp knife) cutting the scion to fit and trusting to a strong band 
to hold it in place. This graft is used for grafting in grape roots, 
also, with root grafting the walnut, and, by some, in ordinary top 
grafting on other trees. 

Planting Out Root Grafts. — This root grafting can be done in the 
winter before it is time to plant out, and the grafts can be made a 
few at a time, as convenient. The grafts, then, as fast as prepared, 
should be bedded in moist sand in the cellar, and will make their 
contact firm, and even start to growing a little. In planting out in 
the nursery rows be sure the earth is firmed well around the root, 
otherwise many will be lost. Plant ten or twelve inches apart m the 
rows. Keep the weeds down and the soil well cultivated and loose 
on the surface, and the first season's growth will give a tree fit for 
planting out in orchard in the coming winter. For irrigation the 
rules already given for the growth of seedlings for budding will 
apply. 

PRUNING TREES IN NURSERY 

As for other treatment of the trees (either from bud or root graft) 
in nursery during the first year, there is some difference of opinion 
and practice. If the young tree will be content to make a straight 
switch with good buds in the axils of the leaves, but no laterals 
thrown out, it will be in the best possible shape for planting in the 
orchard, and gives the planter a chance to make the head at what- 
ever height suits him, and to secure uniformity through the orchard. 
All trees will not, however, be content with this growth, but will 
push out laterals all along the stem. Even in this case some let the 
whole growth go for the planter to treat as he thinks best. Another 
plan is to go over the nursery when the young stock is about two 
feet high and pinch back the laterals part way, but retaining the 
leaves nearest the stem to shade the stem. This pinching back is 
done from the ground up to a height of one to one and a half feet, and 
above that the growth is left to take its natural course, to be cut as 
desired when the head of the tree is formed. Pinching back develops 
buds near the stem and gives the planter a better chance to head the 
tree lower if he likes. Another practice which prevails to some ex- 
tent, is to pinch off the terminal bud when the young tree has reached 



VARIOUS KINDS OF NURSERY TREES 79 

a height of about two and a half or three feet in the nursery. This 
soon forces a growth of lateral branches, which are in turn pinched 
after they have grown out a couple of feet. The result is the forma- 
tion of a head on a nursery tree the first year, and when such trees 
are planted in orchard they are merely cut back on the laterals, leav- 
ing the head as formed in the nursery. Such trees are difficult to 
handle in packing, and take much room in shipment. There may, 
however, be an advantage in such practice for the home grower if he 
is situated in parts of the State where the greatest season's growth 
is attained. Orchard planters generally, however, prefer a June bud 
or a yearling of moderate growth, without laterals. 



CLASSES OF NURSERY STOCKS 

The several classes of stock which are to be had from nurseries 
are as follows : 

Root Grafts. — These are seedling roots, or pieces of them, on 
which scions of the desired variety have been grafted on the bench 
and the junction healed over in the cellar. No growth has yet started 
in the scion. If the tree planter wishes this kind of stock, he should 
plant it out in nursery row in the spring and remove the trees to 
orchard the following winter. 

June Buds. — For multiplying varieties very fast, buds may be 
kept dormant in a cool place ; and put into seedling stocks as early 
in the season as the bark slips well, as already described. It is much 
more common to use early buds of the current season's growth and 
their readiness may be hastened by pinching tips of new shoots from 
which they are to be taken, which forces development of lateral buds. 
After budding, the top of the stock is girdled with knife or cord, or 
partly cut away, and growth is forced on the bud so as to give a small 
tree at the end of the first summer. This method of propagation is 
most popular in the foothill districts, where small trees are preferred 
for transplanting. 

Dormant Buds. — Trees are sold in dormant bud when they are 
lifted from the nursery and sent out before any growth has started 
on the inserted bud. The bud should be seen to be the color of 
healthy bark. Such trees should only be used when yearlings are 
not to be had and gain in time is very important. Care must be 
constantly taken that growth starts from the right bud, and that it 
be protected from breaking ofif by wind or animals. A considerable 
percentage of loss is usual, and extra dormant buds should be 
planted in nursery rows to fill vacancies. 

Yearling Trees. — These are trees which have made one season's 
growth from the bud or graft. Two-year-olds have made two sea- 
sons' growth, and so on. The proper way to count the life of a tree 
is from the starting of growth in the bud or graft, for this point is 
really the birth of the visible parts of the tree. 



80 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



WORKING OVER OLD TREES 



Another operation which may be properly considered as a branch 
of propagation is the working over of old trees. There is much of 
this being done every year in this State. Old seedling trees are made 
to bear improved varieties ; trees of varieties ill adapted to prevail- 
ing conditions are changed into strong growing and productive 
sorts ; trees are changed from one fruit to another, when affinity 
permits. This will be mentioned in the discussion of the different 
fruits. Working over is also done to secure more valuable and mar- 
ketable varieties, or to get a succession of varieties to secure a 
longer working season in which to dispose of them. For all of these 
reasons, and others, the work of the propagator is continually going 
on even in our large bearing orchards. As with young trees, so 
with old, transforming the character of the tree is done both by 
budding and grafting. 

Budding Old Trees. — To prepare an old tree for budding, cut 
back the branches severely during the latter part of the winter, 
which forces out new shoots around the head of the tree, and in these 
the buds of the desired variety are set in the summer, just as is done 
in building nursery stock, except that the budding should be done 
rather earlier because the sap does not run as late. When the shoots 
are budded, those being selected which are situated so as to give the 
best symmetry to the new head, the shoots not budded are broken 
a foot or so from where they emerge from the old wood, and are 
allowed to hang until pruning time. At the winter pruning the 
budding branches are topped off a little above the bud, and when 
the new shoot starts it is often loosely tied to the stub of the old 
branch to prevent breaking out in the wind. When it gets strength, 
the stub is cut away smoothly to allow the wound to heal over. 

Another way is to insert the buds in the old bark at points where 
it is desirable to have the new branches start. This is sometimes 
done by lifting the bark, as in ordinary shield budding, and slipping 
the bud under, sometimes by what is called plate budding, which 
consists in removing a piece of the old bark entirely and putting in its 
place a piece of bark of the desired variety, having upon it a dor- 
mant bud. With plate budding it is necessary to be careful to 
have the inserted bark just the size of the bared spot, and to wrap 
it more closely than when the bud is slipped under the bark of the 
stock. In all cases in budding old trees, care must be taken to get 
fully-matured buds, and it is well to take them from large shoots, 
which have a thicker and firmer bark than may be used in budding 
nursery stock. It is also desirable to be very sure that the buds are 
taken not only from a tree of the desired variety, but from a healthy, 
vigorous and free-bearing tree of that variety. 

Grafting Old Trees. — Old trees are also renewed by grafting. 
This is most generally done by the old process of "top grafting." 
The main stem or the larger branches are cut square off, and the 
scions, usually two, but four or more if in the trunk, are shaped and 
set into clefts in the stock as shown in the engraving. It is better 



CHANGING VARIETIES ON OLD TREES gj 

to use limbs above the main fork, or head of the tree, than to graft 
in the trunk, if the old trees are of good size. The following de- 
scription, which the writer borrows in part from some unknown 
source, will serve to guide novices in the matter : 

The outfit necessary for doing the work consists of a small, fine saw, a 
regular grafting knife, or a pocket-knife with a long, straight sharp blade, 
wax, light mallet, and a hard-wood narrow wedge. After selecting the 
limb to be grafted, saw it off — your own judgment will guide you as to the 
best point, but before the saw gets quite through the limb, cut the bark on 
the under side of the limb to prevent the liability of peeling down. 

Next split the stub with knife and mallet and insert the wedge in the 
center of the cleft to hold it open. It is usual to cut the scion with two 
buds, but sometimes better results are had by using scions with but a single 
bud. Whittle the scion wedge sharp, so that it fits nicely down into the cleft. 
To do this, hold it in the left hand with the bud at the ball of the thumb, 
then cut the side toward you; as will be natural, turn it over, and cut the 
opposite side in the same way, making the wedge a very little thinner on the 
edge opposite the bud than on the other. This will insure a firm pressure at 
the points where the bark of scion and stock meet. 

When set, the bud of the scion will be on line with the outer long portion 
of the graft, the point to be closely observed in adjustment is to have the 
inner or sap bark of the scion connected with the same of the stock. If a 
trifle too far in, or too far out, the work will be a failure. Some people set 
the graft a little out at the top and a little in at the bottom, so as to be 
sure of a connection at the crossing point, but there will be firmer hold 
if there is a union the whole length. Our rule has been to have the wood 
of the scion come exactly parallel with the surface of the stock, and we 
seldom fail in getting firm adhesions and solid limbs after years of growth. 

After the scions are set, and two should be put into one limb if large, 
carefully withdraw the wedge and apply the wax, so that every part of the 
wood and bark cut and split is well coated. In doing this use extreme 
care not to move the scions at all from their sittings. If the pinch of the 
stock is seen to be severe, a small wedge may be left in the center to save 
the scions from crushing. If there is a large cleft, it may be filled with 
damp clay before waxing over. 

Most grafting over of old trees is done by this method, using one 
or another of the wax preparations described upon a preceding 
page. If the cut surface of the stock and the split is thoroughly 
waxed over as low as the bark is split, there is usually little trouble 
with the growth of the scion and the healing over of the stock. In 
the warmer valleys in the interior, the sun is often hot enough to 
melt the wax and cause it to run and bare the wood surfaces. This 
is prevented by dusting the wax thoroughly with brick dust well 
powdered ; but, by a little experimenting with the recipes already 
given, one can secure a wax which will stand any heat likely to be 
encountered. 

For grafting over trees by working upon the limbs, good work 
can be done by bark grafting, which does not require the splitting 
of the stock. There are various ways of doing this. One method is 
shown in the engraving on a previous page, and consists of cutting 
the scion as shown, and inserting it beneath the raised bark and then 
binding well with waxed bands, the preparation of which has already 
been described. 

Another method is an application of what the French call oblique 
side grafting. It consists of making an oblique cut downward 



32 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

through the bark of the stock and for a distance into the wood, using 
a chisel and mallet or even a strong knife. A saw and knife are also 
used for making this cut, as will be described in the chapter on the 
peach. A small form of side graft has already been shown earlier 
in this chapter. In it the scion is held in with a wax band. Some 
growers remove the top of the stock with a sloping cut about half 
an inch above the top of the scion, as shown in the engraving, and 
wrap the waxed band well around and over all the exposed surfaces. 
Others do not remove the whole of the limb until the scion has 
started well into growth, and then they cut down and pare the stock 
and cover with a band or with a wax that will not run in the sun. 

Several ingenious devices have been patented by Californians for 
securing uniformity in the incision in the stock and in shaping the 
scion, but it is so easy to succeed with ordinary tools that such in- 
ventions have never come into wide use. Machines for the bench 
grafting of vines have been employed to a certain extent, but not 
generally. 

Bridge Grafting. — Trees which have been girdled on the trunks 
by gnawing of rodents or by blight, may have new connection be- 
tween root and top by bridge-grafting. It is done by removing the 
earth so as to expose the upper surfaces of healthy roots and spring- 
ing-in long scions from proper places on the roots to healthy bark 
above the injury. Cut scions about three-quarters of an inch longer 
than the space to bridge over ; sharpen each end wedgelike ; raise 
the bark below and above at the edge of the wound and insert scions 
under the bark ; put plenty of scions close together ; wax well with 
a melted wax ; wrap tightly with thin cloth and give it another good 
coat of wax over the cloth, and prune the tree back well. Watch must 
be kept to remove shoots which may start on the scions, and keep 
them carrying sap through instead of using it on their own growth. 
Such bridge-scions are usually less than a foot in length, but have 
been used in spanning pear blight to a length of four feet. 

Citrus trees have been kept alive, though girdled by gum disease, 
by planting seedlings close up and in arching their stems into healthy 
bark above the diseased zone. 



TIMES FOR GRAFTING IN CALIFORNIA 

There is nothing particularly new about the methods or means 
employed for grafting deciduous fruit trees in California, but the 
time at which the operation can be successfully done is different 
from that held to be necessary in other climates. It is not at all 
requisite that the grafter should work in the "spring time." Graft- 
ing is possible much later in the season than is prescribed elsewhere, 
and it is also possible to begin earlier. In apple and pear orchards 
it is common to graft in December. The absence of hard freezing 
saves the graft from injury. As our trees start their flow of sap 
early, and often when the ground is too wet for comfortable or- 
chard work, it is the practice of many to get their grafting and prun- 
ing done before the heavy midwinter rains begin. Of course it 



CALIFORNIA'S ADVANTAGES IN GRAFTING 83 

should be understood that there are parts of the State where the 
winter conditions are more nearly like those at the East, and practice 
has to conform to them. 

As to whether it is better to remove the whole top of the tree and 
graft all the limbs in one year, there is some difference of opinion. 
The prevailing practice is to graft over part of the limbs one year 
and the balance the following year ; or else to leave part of the top 
to shade the bark and take part of the sap flow until the grafts start 
out well, and then cut it away. When a large amount of grafting is 
to be done, the limbs may be cut off during the weeks preceding 
grafting. In this case, the cut should be made a foot or two above 
the grafting point and a second cut be made at this point, when 
ready to put in the scions. 

Whenever old bark is exposed by cutting back for grafting 
thorough protection against sunburn must be provided with good 
whitewash, made according to the recipes given at the close of 
Chapter XI. 

Newly set grafts should be frequently looked after to see that 
the wax remains perfect ; also to remove suckers from the stock 
which may rob the grafts of sap for starting and growing. Care 
should also be taken that growth on grafts is not so rapid as to 
break away in the wind before the union becomes strong. Such 
rapid growth should be supported by fastening a lath alongside both 
stock and graft, or it should be checked by pinching or cutting-back 
the graft-growth as conditions make desirable. 

What has been said thus far relates especially to the working 
over of old trees of common deciduous fruits. Though much the 
same method will succeed with some of the semi-tropical fruits and 
with nut trees, the discussion of their propagation and grafting over 
will be deferred to the chapters devoted to them, and this will also 
give opportunity to describe methods especially adapted to these 
fruits. 



CHAPTER X 

PREPARATION FOR ORCHARD PLANTING 

The two essentials in preparing land for trees or vines are deep 
and thorough cultivation, and provision for drainage, unless the sit- 
uation is naturally well drained. Drainage will be considered in 
connection with irrigation in another chapter. In this place, how- 
ever, by way of emphasis, it may be remarked that high land is not 
necessarily well drained, although the general feature of the sur- 
face may be an incline, nor is low land necessarily wet, although the 
surface may be apparently level. For horticultural purposes the 
drainage of the land must be considered on the hillside as well as in 
the valley, for reasons which Avill be more fully set forth in the 
chapter on drainage. 

The preparation of land for fruit planting should begin with 
grading. In irrigated orchards this is essential for the equal dis- 
tribution of water. Even where irrigation is not anticipated, it is 
of decided advantage to smooth down hummocks and fill sags which 
are likely to collect water in the rainy season. As has been shown 
in Chapter III, this can usually be done on most California soils 
without danger of uncovering a sterile subsoil. Some intimation of 
the method of grading is given at the close of Chapter VII. In prep- 
aration for the irrigated orchard, and irrigation is now widely em- 
ployed even in regions where formerly rainfall was the sole reli- 
ance, it is important that accurate grading should be done and the 
use of the surveyor's level and grade stakes will be found very de- 
sirable. All moving of soil should precede the general plowing. 

For the planting of orchard or vineyard the land must be put in 
as good tilth as possible, and extra expenditure to secure this will 
be amply repaid in the after-growth of the trees and vines. If prac- 
ticable, it will be all the better to have the process of preparation 
begin a year before the trees or vines are to be set. This is true 
either with newly-cleared land, as has been described, or with old 
grain or pasture land which is to be used ; leaving the surface rough 
during the winter, facilitates the access of air to the lower layers 
of the soil, and in a certain sense may be said to sweeten and enliven 
it. Following in the furrow with a subsoil plow is very desirable, 
either at the first plowing or later. Such treatment of old grain 
land breaks up the old hardpan,* which has probably been formed 
by years of shallow culture. The preparation should continue 
during the following summer, and can often be made both thorough 
and profitable by the growth of a summer "hoed crop," the culture 
of which will kill out many weeds and secure good pulverization of 
the soil. If no summer crop is grown, the land should be kept in 
cultivation by plowing the weeds under as long as the surface soil 

*In this connection the term means "plow-sole." Treatment of true hardpan will be 
described in the next chapter. 



PREPARATION FOR ORCHARD PLANTING g5 

retains moisture enough to start them. A special advantage of such 
summer-fallow in regions where rainfall is apt to be short is that by- 
prevention of evaporation, the trees or vines set the following winter 
will have a good part of the rainfall of two seasons to grow with, 
and the result will often be very noticeable. If there are supplies of 
manure available, as are often found in old corrals on our grain or 
stock farms, it is better to gather and apply this the winter before 
the planting of the trees. If this is not done, it should be left until 
after the trees are planted, and then be spread upon the surface 
during the winter, and plowed in after it has been in part leached 
into the soil by the rains. Application should be made evenly all 
over the surface, and not massed around the roots of the trees, un- 
less it is to be applied as a mulch to the surface after the spring 
cultivation is over, as will be considered later. 

If it is thought desirable to plant the land immediately after 
breaking up, put in the plows as early in the fall as it is possible to 
•do deep work, that is, to plow to a depth of ten or twelve inches, or 
more. Harrow thoroughly. If it is still early, cross-plow. Thor- 
ough and deep breaking up as soon as practicable to plow in the 
fall, and following in the furrow with the subsoil plow, working to 
a depth of fourteen inches or more, is a good preparation for fruit 
planting. For this kind of work tractors are now largely used, but, 
if not available, good teams are needed and the plow should be 
sharp and bright. If the work is hard for the team, set the plow so 
as to take less land, but do not sacrifice the depth. Harrow again 
thoroughly, and the land is ready for the trees or vines. 

In breaking up alfalfa for fruit planting, it has been found de- 
sirable to plow at first only about four inches deep to cut off the 
plants with short stubs, and then to replow deeply somewhat later. 
Plants cut with long stub roots, as in deep plowing, are more likely 
to start again than are the short-stub plants. 

Avoiding Dead Furrows. — Unless dead furrows can be used to 
advantage for surface drainage in case of heavy rain-storms, it will 
be of decided convenience in laying ofif to have the field free from 
them. This can, of course, be secured by beginning the final plow- 
ing at a line in the center of the field, turning all furrows inwards. 
In this case, too, if a right-hand plow is used, the team will always 
turn on unplowed land, and thus avoid trampling upon and packing 
the loose soil. The slight ridge in the center of the field formed by 
the first two furrows can be easily leveled by a couple of back fur- 
rows, and when properly harrowed the field will be found smooth as 
a floor for staking out for planting. 



LAYING OUT FOR PLANTING IN SQUARES 

It is very desirable, both for convenience in cultivation and for 
the beauty of the orchard, that the trees should stand in straight 
lines, and care should be taken to attain that end. Most orchards 
and vineyards in this State are laid out in squares ; that is, the rows 



gg CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

of trees or vines are all at right angles to each other, as shown in 
the accompanying sketch. This is the simplest arrangement; and 
by some of our largest planters is held to be the best. It is true that 
the trees are not equidistant from each other in all directions, and 
that, theoretically at least, there is a portion of the ground unused — 
supposing that the roots occupy a circle, as do the branches. Prac- 
tically, however, it may be doubted whether the hungry roots of 
well-grown trees or vines leave any portion of the soil unvisited. 

There are also forms of double squares and alternating squares 
available for planting at long distances, with growths between,, 
which are ultimately to be cut out, or for vines between fruit trees. 
Such mixed planting is, however, but little practiced in California. 



VARIOUS WAYS OF MARKING FOR SQUARES 

Marking With a Plow. — This method was used in laying off some 
of the old orchards in the Sacramento Valley. A common two-horse 
turning plow is rigged with a "marker" — a light wooden bar ex- 
tending at right angles from the beam, the bar being as long as the 
desired distance between the rows of trees. On the end of this bar a 
crosspiece is fastened perpendicularly, so that it scratches along on 
the surface of the ground. The line of the first furrow has to be 
designated by a flag stake, to which the plowman proceeds. When 
this is done, the team is turned and sent back along the next row, 
the location of which has been fixed by the marker, and so on for 
the length of the field, the marker being turned each time to indi- 
cate the next furrow. Following the same course the other way of 
the field leaves the trees to be planted at the intersection of the fur- 
rows. In early days trees were planted nearer together than is now 
considered desirable and, obviously, the operations of a marker be- 
come more difficult as the distances increase. 

Measure and Sight. — Another method which is quite commonly 
used and answers a good purpose in small plantings is the combina- 
tion of measure and sight. The sighting stakes are usually plaster- 
ers' laths, pointed at one end and whitewashed to make them more 
visible to the eye. In the use of these it is necessary to measure the 
distances and locate the laths to mark the ends of the rows all 
around the field. Then locate a line of laths across the field each 
way through the center, these laths occupying places which the trees 
of these two central rows will fill. After these are in place, rneas- 
urement can be dispensed with, and the job can be finished by sight- 
ing through. The man on the ends of the rows has three laths to 
sight by in each row, and the stake driver places the stakes as di- 
rected by the sighter. Good location can be done this way if a man 
has a good eye and patience enough. 

Marking Off With a Wire. — A measuring wire or chain is, per- 
haps, the best means for getting accurate location of trees or vines. 
It is used either for setting in squares or in other arrangement, as 
will be described presently. Measuring wires are made of annealed 



LAYING OFF FOR PLANTING 87 

steel wire about one-eighth of an inch in diameter. The length varies 
according to the wishes of the user. If it is desired to lay off the 
plantation in blocks of one acre, the wire should be two hundred and 
eight feet nine inches long, for that is approximately the length of 
one side of a square inclosing an acre of ground. But some use a 
wire as long as three hundred feet, when the acre measure is of no 
consequence ; and others, in smaller plantings, make the wire just 
the length of the piece they have in hand. At each end of the 
wire is fixed a strong iron ring about one and a half inches in diam- 
eter, to be slipped over stakes ; some use a larger ring, sa}^ three 
inches in diameter, because it is easier to handle in pulling taut. 
Along this wire, patches of solder are placed exactly at the distances 
desired between the rows of trees or vines, and to these places pieces 
of red cloth are sometimes fastened so that the points may be easily 
seen. Another style of measuring wire is made of small wire cable 
about a quarter of an inch in diameter, made of several strands of 
small wire. It is more flexible and less likely to become kinked than 
the large wire, and can be easily marked off to represent the dis- 
tances, at which rows of diiTerent kinds of trees should be placed, 
by separating the strands a little at the desired points and inserting 
a little piece of red cloth, pressing the wires together again and tying 
firmly with a waxed thread to prevent slipping. In this way the 
same wire can be easily arranged for planting vines or for trees re- 
quiring the greatest distances between the rows. Another advantage 
of the cable is that any stretching can be taken up by retwisting, 
which cannot be done with the stretching of a single wire. Another 
good style of planting wire is made of 2, 4 or 6- foot links of No. 12 
steel wire (including the diameters of the small rings turned at each 
end of the link .pieces). As all planting will probably be at multiple 
distances of these link-lengths, the Cloth tags can be changed and 
the chain thus be marked for any desired distances. 

Some of the largest recent orchard plantings have been made by 
the use of the planting-wires described. Guide stakes are placed by 
surveyors two or three hundred feet apart in lines which accurately 
represent the distance between the rows. The trees are placed in 
these rows by the use of the wire between the guide stakes. If the 
foreman of the planting gang keeps his eye on the work, quite ac- 
curate lining of the trees in all directions can be secured. 

Finding a True Corner. — To use the measuring wire for laying 
out trees on the square, it is necessary first to get one corner true, 
and then a field of any size can be marked out accurately. Select 
the side of the field which is to serve as the base of the square and 
stretch the wire along that, say fifteen feet from the fence, which 
will give room enough to turn with the team in cultivation or to 
drive along in picking-time. When the wire is thus stretched par- 
allel with the boundary of the field, place a stake at each of the dis- 
tance tags on the wire, and these stakes will represent the first row 
of trees or vines. To find a square corner, begin at the starting point 
and measure ofif sixty feet along this row with a tape line, and put a 
temporary stake, then from the starting point measure off eighty 



88 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



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Trees planted on the Square system. The Hexagonal or Septuple system. 



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The Triangular or Alternate system. 



The Quincunx system. 



PLANTING ON HILLSIDES 39 

feet as nearly at a right angle with the first line as can be judged 
with the eye, and run diagonally from this point to the temporary 
sixty-foot stake. If the distance between these stakes is one hun- 
dred feet, then the corner is a right angle. Now, having the outside 
lines started at right angles to each other, one can proceed with the 
measuring wire and lay off as large an area as he desires, if care is 
taken to have each line drawn parallel with the last, and all stakes 
accurately placed with the tags on the wire — providing the land is 
nearly level or on a uniform grade. In locating trees over uneven 
ground, the measurements will have to be made from tree to tree, 
with the tape line held as nearly to a level as possible. 

Rows on Hillsides. — Laying off orchard or vineyard on hillside 
too steep to plow both ways, there is advantage sometimes in placing 
the rows up and down the hill nearly twice as far apart as the rows 
along the face of the hill. In planting trees thus the advantage to 
be! gained is by enabling you to keep the team well up the hill ; 
thereby you are able to plow or cultivate the trees close on the lower 
side of the rows. There is no difficulty in cultivating the upper side 
of the rows, for the plow or harrow is always below the team. If 
trees are planted as recommended, the team can be guided up the 
hill a little between the rows, then allowed to drop downhill one step, 
and thus one can cultivate the trees close on the lower side. The 
same rule will apply to vines. 

QUINCUNX PLANTING 

There is much confusion in the use of this term in this State. It 
is, in fact, made to cover almost every kind of arrangement which is 
not on the square. Webster defines the term to mean "the arrange- 
ment of things, especially of trees, by five in a square, one being 
placed in the middle of a square." Trees set in quincunx would 
stand as shown in the accompanying diagram. To locate them in 
this form it is only necessary to proceed as already described for 
planting in squares, by fixing upon the base line and locating two 
side lines to it at right angles. Place the stakes on these two lines 
just half the distance desired between the trees, and have the meas- 
uring wire long enough to reach across from one line to the other. 
Near one end of the wire place another mark just half way between 
the end and the first tree marked ; that is, if the trees are to be 
twenty-four feet apart in the squares, this additional mark should 
be twelve feet from the end of the wire. Now set the first row with 
thei end of the wire at the corner stake, and set stakes at each 
twenty-four foot mark. 

Proceed now to the first half-way stake, and instead of putting 
the end of the wire at this stake, put the twelve-foot mark there. 
Put stakes now at each twenty-four foot mark again to locate the 
trees in that row. In the next row put the end of the wire at the 
first stake and proceed as in the first row. Thereafter using the end 
of the wire and the twelve-foot marks alternately, the stakes will be 
set in quincunx all over the field. If the midway stakes are now 



90 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

pulled out along the two side lines, the remaining stakes show where 
the trees are to be placed. This way of planting locates about 78 
per cent more trees upon any given area, but it brings the trees at 
irregular distances from each other, and except in furnishing a way 
to arrange an orchard with permanent and temporary trees, there 
does not seem to be any advantage in it. 



PLANTING IN EQUILATERAL TRIANGLES 

This is the arrangement generally implied when the term "quin- 
cunx" is wrongly employed. By it the trees are all equally distant 
from each other, and thus the ground divided as equally as possible. 

Hexagonal planting places the trees as shown in the accompany- 
ing sketch. 

It is termed hexagonal because, as the figure consists of six trees 
inclosing a seventh, a line drawn through the encompassing trees 
makes a hexagon. It is also called septuple planting, because seven 
trees enter into its figure. 

An orchard can be laid out in hexagonals by using the measuring 
wire as described for quincunx planting with the distance and half- 
distance marks, except that the guide stakes in the side rows must 
be placed at different distances apart. The following table shows 
the distance for side stakes to reach desired distance between the 
trees, and the method of calculating the number of trees to the acre 
by the square and hexagonal or sextuple arrangement: 

Trees set Septuple Check-stakes should be 

10 feet apart 8 feet 8 inches 

12 feet apart 10 feet 4 2-5 inches. 

14 feet apart 12 feet % inches. 

16 feet apart 13 feet lOj/2 inches. 

18 feet apart 15 feet 7 inches. 

20 feet apart 17 feet 4 inches. 

21 feet apart 18 feet 2^ inches. 

22 feet apart 19 feet % inches. 

24 feet apart 20 feet 9 J^ inches. 

After the field is staked, each alternate stake in the check rows should 
be removed. The following table will show the number of trees to the acre 
by the square and septuple system: 

Square Septuple 

10 feet apart 435 500 

12 feet apart 302 347 

14 feet apart 222 255 

16 feet apart 170 195 

18 feet apart 134 154 

20 feet apart 109 125 

21 feet apart 99 114 

22 feet apart 90 103 

24 feet apart 75 86 

For any distance not given in the above table, calculate the number of 
trees to the acre by the square system, and add fifteen per cent. This will 
give the number if planted septuple. 

The arrangement admits 15 per cent more trees to the acre than 
the setting in squares, and the ground can be worked in three dif- 



PLANTING AT UNIFORM DISTANCES 



91 



terent directions. This arrangement also gives better facilities for 
irrigation. Objections are urged to it, however, in that it does not 
admit of thinning trees by removal of alternate rows, as is some- 
times desirable, and that one has to take a zigzag course in driving 
through the orchard. It is, in fact, much less in use than formerly. 

Laying Out Hexagonals With a Triangle. — It is possible to lay 
out an orchard in hexagonal form by working from stake to stake 
with an equilateral triangle of dimensions equaling the distance re- 
quired between the trees. 




One corner of triangle — all being made alike. 



Take three strips of one-by-two-inch dry pine or redwood, and as long 
as you wish the distance between the trees. Cut the strips the same length, 
and fasten the corners of the triangle firmly together by nailing two pieces 
of pine board six by six inches. 

If the long strips are set up edgewise, the triangle will be much stiffer 
and better to carry. Through the corner boards bore an inch hole, making 
sure that the three sides of the triangle measure exactly the same. If they 
do, the triangle must necessarily be perfect. Then brace it a little by nailing 
a lath across each corner, and it is ready for use. 

Now split out some three-quarter-inch pins, one foot long, from good, 
straight-grained redwood. Make one hundred pins for each acre you have 
to lay off. 

Three persons must now carry the triangle, beginning on one side of 
the field, say eight feet from the fence, and guided the first time through 
by a line of stakes. Carry the triangle with its side to the line of guide 
stakes and its point in. The head man and the inside man will stick pins, 
while the rear man will slip his corner each time upon the pin set by the 
liead man. 

After the first time across, the man at the inside point of the triangle 
alone will set pins, while the other two fit their corners upon the pins in 
the last row set. Thus one row of pins only is set each time you go across 
the field. 

If the triangle is exact, and the first row of pins is set perfectly straight, 
and the pins are always set perpendicularly, everything will now work like 



92 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THF.M 

a charm and the job will be perfect; and it is so simple and easy that a 
man and two small boys can lay oflF from five to ten acres in one day. Re- 
member that no guide stakes are used anywhere after the first time through. 

The Triangle on Hillside. — The use of the triangle requires a 
little nicety in "leveling up" where the piece is hilly. By using a 
plumb-line at two corners of the triangle, the third corner resting 
on one of the stakes, leveling the triangle and bringing one of the 
plumb-lines over another stake already set, the position of the other 
line would determine the position of the next stake. This method 
has worked fairly well, even in places where the slope was sufficient 
to give a fall of six feet between the trees, which were set twenty 
feet apart. 

Locating in Triangles With a Chain. — Instead of a wooden tri- 
angle, a chain has been used in this way : 

First stretch a chain along one side of the ground, setting by it the first 
row of stakes. This forms the base line. Have a piece of chain just twice 
the length of the established distance between trees, with ample rings on 
the ends and a joint in the middle. Put one of the rings over the first stake 
and the other over the second stake. Then take the joint in the middle of 
the chain and stretch it out reasonably tight. The wire forms a letter V, 
at the focus of which stick a stake. The point is indicated with precision 
by the joint in the middle of the chain. Then take the ring oflf the first stake 
and put it over the third stake, leaving the one on the second stake where 
it is. Tighten the chain again, and another point is fixed. Thus continue 
alll the base line, shifting the rings alternately, turning over the chain as 
one turns a pair of draughtsman's compasses in his hand when spacing oflf 
a line. The second row of stakes being set, set the third row, and so on 
through the ground. 

The suggestions given in this chapter should indicate ways 
enough to lay off orchard and vineyard ground to answer all needs, 
though there are other good ways not mentioned. It is hoped that 
the instructions will not be regarded as too explicit. They are in- 
tended for the guidance of the inexperienced planter, and wjill 
naturally seem laden with detail to those who have become familiar 
with the operations by repeated practice. 



CHAPTER XI 



PLANTING THE TREES 



After the field has been graded, thoroughly tilled and carefully 
laid off as has been described, the next step is digging the holes for 
the trees. "How large shall the holes be?" He was a wise fruit 
grower who, when asked this question, replied, "As large as the 
field." That is to say, it is much better to work the whole ground 
over deeply than to trust to deep holes and shallow working else- 
where. Where this is done, the tree holes need only be large enough 
and deep enough to receive the roots without folding them in or 
cramping them up. In loose, deep soil, however, one can dig extra 
dfeep'and broad holes if he desires, and will be repaid by extra 
growth of the tree ; but in a close, tenacious soil a deep hole is not 
only undesirable, but often positively a danger to the tree unless 
drainage of the holes is provided artificially. Such holes hold water 
like a tub, and the loosening of the soil deeply facilitates its gather- 
ing in the hole. Many have found their trees in such places dwind- 
ling and dying because their roots were soaking in water. 

Planting on Some Shallow Soils. — As a rule, trees should have 
a deep soil, and for these deep, free loams, California is famous, but 
there are situations where very satisfactory growth and production 
can be had, even when the hardpan is near the surface and the soil 
would be called shallow. In such places it is the character of the 
subsoil which warrants the tree and vine planter in making use of 
them. Sometimes the hardpan is so thin and near the surface that 
it can be broken through with a pick in digging the tree hole. 
Otherwise boring is done. It was about 1875 that Mr. James Rutter, 
of Florin (on the "bedrock" lands near Sacramento), first noticed 
that there were vines here and there which grew exceptionally well 
and bore large crops of fine fruit. He found by investigation that 
under these vines there were crevices in the "bedrock," and from this 
he took the hint to bore through this hardpan in the bottom of the 
hole where he placed the tree, and in this way he gained access for 
the roots to the subsoil and egress for the water through the per- 
meable substratum. He bored a hole two inches in diameter into or 
through the bedrock and rammed well into it one and a half pounds 
of black blasting powder. After exploding this, he sometimes bored 
a three-inch hole about four feet below the blast. Instead of blast- 
ing in the hole where the tree is to be planted, some bore and blast 
in the hardpan midway between the rows, placing the holes at 
"quincunx" with the trees. The shattering of the hardpan between 
the trees is said to be practicable after the trees are growing and 
may in certain soils relieve trees which are suflfering for lack of 
drainage. A half-pound cartridge of dynamite has been successfully 
used for subsoil blasting, and some have reported in favor of ex- 



94 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

ploding a quarter-pound cartridge quite near to a tree sufferings 
from standing water, putting in the charge during the dry season. 

There are many situations where such practice would be bene- 
ficial, and in some cases mere digging or boring through the im- 
pervious stratum avails much. There are spots where "lava crusts" 
overlie gravel, and trees have been well grown by cutting holes 
through the lava to the gravel, filling with good soil and planting the 
trees in these holes. Their roots penetrate to the gravel stratum 
and obtain abundant moisture and nutriment. In certain situations 
where a shallow layer of soil overlies a heavy clay, trees have been 
blown over, but when a cut has been made through the clay, the 
trees have rooted deeply and have withstood the winds. 

Shooting Holes For Trees. — Upon the basis of these pioneer de- 
monstrations, California claims priority in the now widely prevalent 
"dynamite farming." The most minute descriptions of approved 
methods are now available in the publications of the powder manu- 
facturers and their traveling demonstrators give field instructions 
in materials and appliances to those who ask for them. It is very 
important to proceed wisely, for if the subsoil is not in the right 
condition or the charge of powder not properly chosen for the pur- 
pose, there is danger of making a pot-hole in which water will stand 
and kill the tree. It is also important to do the blasting some time 
in advance of planting so that irrigation or an adequate rainfall can 
settle the disturbed subsoil. The trees planted on a fresh blasting 
have sometimes sunk a foot by settling after planting and have been 
ruined thereby. 

Digging the Holes. — Holes for tree planting may be dug at a 
leisure time after the laying off of the field, even though it is not 
designed to plant the trees immediately, but our largest planters 
do not approve the practice. In such cases the sides of the holes 
should always be freshly pared off before the trees are put in, be- 
cause the rain and sunshine are apt to cement the sides. In digging 
holes the surface earth should always be thrown to one side and the 
lower soil on another. The object of this is to have the top soil to 
place in direct contact with the roots when the tree is planted, the 
lower soil being used to fill up the hole. 



TREE SETTERS 

No matter how carefully the stakes are placed in laying off the 
orchard, the trees will not easily come in line unless some handy 
device is used for bringing the stem just in the place occupied by 
the stake which was thrown out in digging. These devices are called 
"tree-setters," and there are a number of designs. Two are given, 
either of which will give good results. Take a piece of board one 
inch thick, four inches wide, and five feet long ; bore an inch hole 
in the center, and one at each end at equal distance from the center; 
then cut a piece from one side of the board, marked by a square, 
the corner resting in the middle of the center hole. Make two stakes, 
each one foot long, that will easily pass through the end holes. Place 



TREE-SETTERS AND THEIR USE 9^ 

the center of this board against the stake, where the tree is to be 
planted ; push the stakes into the ground through the holes in the 
ends, then lift the board from position and proceed to dig the hole. 



J \ 01 



Bar for tree setting. 

When dug, replace the board over the end stakes in its former posi- 
tion, then plant the tree with its trunk resting against the center 
notch in the board, and you have it in just the right place. 

Another setter is in the form of a triangle : Take three pieces of 
plain one-inch stuff three to four inches wide and four feet long, 
and nail them together, forming a three-cornered frame, letting the 
ends project sufficiently to form a corner, as shown in the drawing. 
Next make a couple of smooth, hard stakes, well sharpened, and 
about a foot or sixteen inches in length. When you are ready to 
set your trees, place the frame flat upon the ground with one corner 
firmly and fairly against the stake which marks the place where the 
tree is to stand. Now in the other two corners stick the stakes 
already prepared for the purpose. This done, pull up the stake 




Triangular tree setter 



against which the frame was first placed — the one indicating a place 
for a tree — remove the frame, being careful in doing so not to move 
the other two stakes, which must be left to be used while setting the 
tree. After the hole is dug and everything ready for setting the 
tree, again place the frame against the two standing stakes, let 
the tree drop into the other corner, which will help support it 
while the dirt is being placed about the roots ; and this will bring the 
tree exactly where the stake was originally. If the stakes are prop- 
erly put in line, so will be the trees. 

These setters are described as they are used when the hole is dug 
and the tree set at the same time. Such is the ordinary practice in 



96 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

planting. If one wishes to dig the holes beforehand, it is necessary 
to furnish more stakes, as two have to be left beside each hole to 
mark the position of the setter when the planting is done. Besides 
its use in bringing a tree into line, the tree setter enables one to 
judge of the depth of setting as compared with the surface of the 
surrounding ground. It is not easy to determine this with the eye 
if the hole be a large one. Where the measuring wire is used to set 
the stakes, it is sometimes stretched across again after the holes are 
dug, the tags on the wire thus indicating the places for the trees of 
the whole row. The trouble with this practice is the bother of hav- 
ing the wire in the way while filling and tramping the earth around 
the roots. 

SELECTING TREES 

In the purchase of trees it is well to patronize nurserymen in 
your own district, providing they are honest and intelligent men, 
who keep themselves informed as they should about their business. 
The advice of such a local nurseryman is often of great value to the 
newcomer, for he will know by his experience and observation much 
about the adaptations of fruits and varieties thereof to the region. 
If, for any reason, local nurseries do not meet your needs, seek some 
well-established nursery at a distance. It is much safer to deal 
directly with the grower of the trees than to patronize traveling 
agents. Where, however, these agents are the accredited represent- 
atives of well-known establishments, they may save the planter 
time and trouble by taking his order for him. So-called "tree- 
peddlers," who are jobbers in trees and in too many cases send you 
refuse trees which they pick up cheap wherever they can, and label 
them to suit, without respect to truth or honesty, should be reso- 
lutely avoided, no matter what inducements or blandishments they 
may offer. 

The California legislature of 1907 passed a law making it unlaw- 
ful to sell fruit trees representing them to be a certain kind and 
afterwards to deliver trees of a different kind. To do this is a mis- 
demeanor punishable by fine and imprisonment. Action may be 
begun at any time within seven years after the date of delivery of 
such trees.* 

The State of California also endeavors to protect planters by 
enabling them to ascertain responsibility of nurserymen. The law of 
1917 requires that any person who handles nursery stock for plant- 
ing or propagation within this State shall register with the State 
Commissioner of Horticulture, and all shipments by such licensee 
shall have his license number affixed to the package. Planters 
should preserve all such evidence of responsibility in case occasion 
should arise for reference to it. 

It is desirable, if possible, to visit the nursery and see the stock 
which is to be furnished. The trees should have a good healthy look, 
with clean bark, and of size enough to indicate a good, free growth. 



•Statutes and amendments to the Codes, 1907; chapter 229. 



TAKING TREES FROM NURSERY 



97 



The matter of size is not the only point to consider, for size of the 
top is not so desirable as well-matured wood and plenty of roots. 
Stunted trees are not, as a rule, worth planting. There are cases, 
however, in which, by extra cultivation in good soil, fine trees have 
been grown even from "culls" from the nursery. The best rule is 
to select trees of good medium size, straight and healthy. During 
the digging season, ask to see samples of the roots as well as the 
tops, and do not purchase trees unless the roots are healthy looking 
and free from knots or excrescences. Gnarly and knotty roots in 
the young tree are a sure sign of insect pests or of unhealthy growth, 
and planting such trees has occasioned immense loss. Many have 
been led into purchasing poor trees because they may be had cheap. 
A tree selected merely because it is cheap may prove the most ex- 
pensive thing a man can put in the ground. 

Guarding Against Insects. — The top of the tree should be care- 
fully examined to discover scale insects if there be any. For this 
purpose a hand-magnifier should be used. Such a glass should 
always be in the fruit grower's pocket. One can be bought at any 
optician's for a dollar or two, which will fold into its case so as to 
be carried without scratching. Our nurserymen by forsaking old 
infested locations and obtaining new ground, now sell much cleaner 
trees than they did years ago. But still it is well to be always on the 
watch for pests. Disinfection of nursery stock is now officially pro- 
vided. Details of treatment will be given in the chapter on injurious 
insects. 



TAKING TREES FROM THE NURSERY 

Trees should be carefully taken from the nursery rows, so as to 
obtain a good amount of small branching roots. In lifting from the 
home nursery, digging with well-sharpened spades, which will sever 
the long roots cleanly, is perhaps the best method. In the large 
nurseries tree diggers are generally used. They have two revolving 
coulters which cut through the surface soil each side of the trees, 
and a sharp-curved blade, which is drawn through the ground under 
the trees, loosening the soil and severing the long roots cleanly. The 
tree is then easily lifted, and has generally a much better root sys- 
tem than by the old style of "plowing out," which broke off so 
many of the small roots and lacerated the larger ones. Whether the 
tap root should be retained or not is not worth discussing on theo- 
retical grounds. As a matter of fact and practice, the tap root cuts 
no figure at all in California orchard planting, although the discus- 
sion of the question was formerly very warm in this State, and is 
still occasionally heard. It is important, howevtr, that the planter 
should have as many small lateral roots as he can get. The small 
fibrous roots are usually of little account, as they seldom survive 
transplanting, and it is better to clip them away, if the time can be 
afforded, as they often prevent the proper close contact of the soil 
with the larger roots. Cutting back all roots to short stubs at the 
base of the stem has succeeded in some instances in California on 



9g CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

moist lowlands, but longer roots are far safer in the deep drying of 
the surface layer which is to be expected in this State. 

The roots, after lifting, should not be permitted to dry. Hence, 
in hauHng from the nursery to the farm, the trees should be well 
covered with wet straw and old sacks, or, if shipped from the nur- 
sery to distant points, should be well packed. The best way to pack 
trees is, undoubtedly, to box them in with wet straw, but it costs 
less and they usually carry well considerable distances if carefully 
bundled with tules (dry reed stems), the roots packed in wet straw, 
and the packing and covering bound down tight with ropes to pre- 
vent drying out. 

Attention should be paid to hauling away trees from the railway 
stations as soon as possible after arrival. It is not uncommon for 
shipments to lie on the station platforms for days, often when a des- 
iccating north wind is blowing. Such treatment soon takes the life 
out of trees, and often, no doubt, the nurseryman is blamed for 
failure of trees which have suffered some such neglect as this, either 
from transportation companies or from the purchasers. 

Heeling-In. — On arrival at the farms, trees should be "heeled- 
in" as soon as possible ; even if it is the intention to plant at once, 
heel them in just the same, for delays arise often in the most unex- 
pected manner. To heel-in, dig a trench or plow a deep furrow, or 
a double furrow, in light, moist, but well-drained soil; put in the 
trees singly side by side, removing all the packing material carefully 
from the roots, laying the tops all one way, and then shovel the dirt 
over the roots until they are well covered with loose soil, and be sure 
that the soil sifts down well between the roots. Ordinarily this 
treatment will hold the trees in good condition for a considerable 
time if need be. If, however, they have become dry before arrival, 
the bundles should be thoroughly drenched with water before heel- 
ing in. In extreme cases, where the top shows drying by shrinking 
and shriveling of the bark, the trees should be drenched, and then 
they should be covered root and top with earth for two or three 
davs, when, if the trouble has not gone too far, the bark will recover 
its" smoothness and plumpness. It should be very seldom, however, 
that a lot of trees is allowed to get into such condition by neglect. 
In heeling-in it will be found a great convenience and a safeguard 
against possible confusion by loss of labels, if each variety as taken 
from the packing is placed by itself in the trench. Nurserymen gen- 
erally attach a label to each small bundle, if the trees are of several 
varieties, and the novice is apt to lose all track of his sorts when 
heeling in the trench, unless he heels in each kind by itself, leaving 
the nurseryman's label to mark the whole lot of each kind. 

In heeling-in, the trees should be put in the trench on the slant 
and not upright. First it is easier to put them that way, because 
they hold themselves in place for covering the roots, and it is also 
easier and better for the trees to Hft them out than to pull them out. 
Second, when putting in on the plant the tops should always point 
to the southern sky, because the sun is low down and its rays hit the 
trees on the ends and not on the sides. Activity in the top of the 



DANGERS TO HEELED-IN TREES 99 

tree begins from sun heat on the bark and a tree slanting to the 
south gets less of it than if straight up and very much less than if 
the slant was toward the north, which would bring the sides of the 
trees at right angles to the sun's rays. Therefore a slant to the 
south keeps the heeled-in trees dormant longer. 

Some planters spray the trees with lime-sulphur after heeling-in, 
both to make sure of disinfection and to whiten the bark against 
sun-heat. 

Fungus Injury to Heeled-In Trees. — Heeled-in trees are par- 
ticularly liable to injury from soil fungus (pythiacystis), which may 
also attack them in the nursery rows. Professor E. H. Smith of 
the University of California says : 

Practically all deciduous fruit trees are susceptible. The cankers may 
occur anywhere on the trunk, but are very apt to start about the bud union. 
In the worst cases the trees are girdled and the bark killed and blackened 
for several inches up, but usually for less than an inch below the union. 
There may be two or three widely separated cankers on the same tree, each 
canker two or three inches long and starting on the same side of the trunk, 
where it has lain in contact with the ground or dirt washed up on it by rain. 
The most important thing is to prevent soaking of the trees for any length 
of time during heeling-in. It often occurs merely as an augmented form of 
water injury. 

Heeled-in trees and trees during transportation are subject to 
injuries by frost which may be indicated by unnatural colors in 
the tissues of the stem or root, revealed by cutting into them. Such 
injury may usually be prevented in California climates by good 
packing in transit and by covering with straw or sacks after 
heeling-in. 

Cutting Back in the Nursery. — If the planter has his own ideas 
of after-treatment of his trees, or if he is a beginner and desires to 
adopt the suggestions which will be laid down in this book, he should 
insist that the nurseryman shall not trim up or cut back the trees 
before packing. Have the trees packed just as they are lifted from 
the ground. The work towards the shaping of the tree should be 
done when it is planted in the orchard. 



PLANTING THE ORCHARD 

The young deciduous tree should be dormant before being re- 
moved from the nursery row, and if its leaves have fallen it is good 
evidence of its dormancy. Such, however, is the effect of the clitnate 
of California, more apparent in some years than others, and with 
some kinds of fruit than others, that the young tree retains a small 
part of its activity very late, and in such cases it is not practicable 
to wait for the complete falling of the leaves. Sometimes for con- 
venience of work, the trees have to be lifted before this takes place, 
and in such case it is desirable to remove the leaves to lessen evap- 
oration. It is probably better to transplant in this condition for the 
sake of early setting in its new position than to wait for all the 



100 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

leaves to drop. This statement is not intended to include nursery 
stock which may be kept growing late in the season by late irriga- 
tion. Such trees are not always desirable. 

Time to Plant. — The best time to plant deciduous trees in Cali- 
fornia is soon after the early rains have deeply moistened the 
ground. It is not desirable, however, to have a stratum of dry earth 
below. This can be removed by irrigation when available. Early 
planting of common orchard fruits is of advantage for several rea- 
sons. First, an early-planted tree gets the full benefit of the season's 
rainfall, whatever it may be, and a late-planted tree, in a year with 
short rainfall, is apt to suffer during its first season's growth, unless 
it can be irrigated. The two main things to observe are the dor- 
mancy of the tree and the proper condition of the soil, and both of 
these are most apt to coincide in many parts of California about the 
first of January, but in heavy loams in region of large rainfall, the 
soil may then be too cold and wet. There will, however, be some 
variation from year to year, and different parts of the State dis- 
agree as to the date. Hence, the general rule must be based on con- 
ditions of the tree and of the soil. If the novice cannot judge these 
for himself, he must get the advice of some one of experience in 
the locality. 

The dormant period of a tree in California, as has been stated in 
another connection, is very short. As many cold-climate annual 
plants become perennial here, so our deciduous trees, in compara- 
tively frostless portions of the State, evince a tendency to become 
evergreen. The period of dormancy in the root is also shorter than 
the inactivity of the top. Trees transplanted early are found to have 
their root wounds calloused over and new rootlets considerably ad- 
vanced before the buds swell. Therefore, by early planting the tree 
begins soon to take hold upon the soil, the latter being well settled 
around it by the rains, which often follow early planting, and the 
high winds, which are apt to come in the spring in some parts of the 
State, find the tree well anchored and ready to maintain itself. 

Again, the proper condition of soil, if not seized at its first com- 
ing, may not recur until after the great storms of the winter are 
over, say in February or March (in most parts of the State), and 
then often the buds are bursting into bloom and leaf. Planting when 
trie soil is water-soaked and cold is very undesirable, for in such 
condition it cannot be properly disposed about the roots, the inactive 
roots may begin to decay, and trees moved at this period are apt to 
show their dislike of the treatment. If the work has been delayed 
unavoidably, so that early planting cannot be done, it is better to 
keep the trees heeled-in until the proper soil condition returns, even 
if it be rather late, for a little extra attention to cultivation for re- 
tention of moisture may pull through a late-planted tree. 

These remarks are of very wide application in this State, but 
there are exceptions. In our high altitudes, where the climate ap- 
proaches Eastern conditions in cold and snowfall, practice in plant- 
ing will also approximate Eastern methods. In regions of very 
heavy rainfall and on the upper coast where the rainy season and 



HOW TO PLANT TREES JQJ 

moisture from fogs are prolonged late in the spring, late planting 
is safer and surer than in the warmer, drier parts of the State. 

Another consideration, too, is the slope of the land to be planted. 
Our hillside fruit growers in regions of heavy winter storms some- 
times plant slopes, which, if plowed deep in the fall, are apt to wash 
badly during the heavy winter rains. On such slopes it is better to 
plow late in the winter, after the heavy storms are over, and plant 
as soon as the soil becomes warm and mellow. 

Avoid planting during the prevalence of a dry wind, if possible. 
If, however, it is necessary that planting be done during such 
weather, the roots may be covered with wet sacks until each tree 
can be planted and the earth well placed about the roots. 



THE OPERATION OF PLANTING 

Tree planting should be carefully and well done, but it need not 
necessarily be slowly done. With a kind soil deeply worked and 
just in the right condition for planting, trees may be put in well and 
rapidly. Two men work together at a decided advantage. Using 
the straight "tree-setter," which has already been described, one 
takes each end, and as soon as the center notch encloses the tree 
stake, the setter stakes are pushed into the soil, the "setter" is laid 
aside, and the two men, taking up their shovels or spades, begin first 
around the outside of the hole, throv\^ing all the surface dirt on the 
same side of the hole and leaving the tree stake to be thrown out 
last, because its remaining serves to center the hole. The lower 
soil is now thrown to the other side of the hole, and when depth 
enough is reached, the soil at the bottom of the hole is loosened up 
to a depth of a shovel thrust, without removing it from the hole. 
A shovelful or two of the surface soil is thrown into the center 
of the hole, being allowed to remain higher in the center, because 
this generally furnishes a cushion about the natural shape of the 
under surface of the root system of the tree. Now replace the tree- 
setter upon its end pegs, let one man hold the tree with its stem in 
the central notth in the setter, and while the other man shovels in 
the surface earth rather slowly at first, the man who holds the tree 
with one hand will spread out the roots, pulverize and pack the 
earth around them, being sure that no cavities are left under any 
of the roots, but that their surfaces everywhere come into contact 
with the soil, and that they spread out as widely as possible. The 
earth is being continuously put in by the shoveler, and when the 
roots are covered the planter steps in the hole and carefully firms 
the soil down upon the roots by tramping (especially at the cut ends 
of the roots around the outer side of the hole), at the same time 
judging of the perpendicularity of the tree with his eye. When this 
is done, both men use their shovels and fill up the hole with the earth 
taken from below, being sure to leave the last few inches at the sur- 
face pulverized, but untramped, unless the soil be very light so that 
tramping will not overpack it. Some one said long ago that one 
should not plant a tree as he does a post, ramming down the earth 



102 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

to the very top of the hole. Many trees are doutless ruined by over 
zeal in this respect. 

The shovel has been mentioned frequently as the tool to be used 
in planting. Where the soil is deeply plowed, well worked, and free 
from stone, the shovel is the most rapid tool. Under other condi- 
tions the long-handled spade, and in some cases the long-handled 
spading fork, serves admirably in loosening the soil at the bottom of 
the holes and in breaking up lumps while filling in. One man with a 
shovel or spade, and the other with the fork, make a good combina- 
tion in this respect. 

As a rule the young tree is planted so as to stand upright, but 
it is reasonable to give it a slight slant into the prevailing wind if 
older trees indicate that they are thrown out of plumb by it. 

Planting in a Furrow. — A practice which has been largely fol- 
lowed in the Sacramento Valley and which attains greatest speed 
and cheapness consists in laying off as described in the preceding 
chapter, and then proceeding with a heavy listing plow, followed 
by a subsoil plow in the same furrow. The trees are then rapidly 
set with the least digging. This is all done before the field is plowed. 
Plowing immediately follows planting. The advantages of this 
method are ease of work on firm ground instead of a plowed surface, 
and escape of injury to this surface by men and teams in planting 
after plowing. It does not, however, prepare the land so well as 
deep working before laying out. 



RANDOM SUGGESTIONS 

The roots of every tree should be examined before planting. All 
large root ends should have a fresh, clean cut with a sharp knife or 
shears. Make a slanting cut with the cut surface on the underside 
of the root. Where a root is mangled or bruised, it should in most 
cases be cut back to a sound place. 

The wound made by the cutting away of the seedling stock above 
the bud should be at the north or northeast, in order that this weak 
point may be shaded as much as possible from the afternoon sun. 

If the roots of young trees grow more to one side than the other, 
place the strongest roots toward the prevailing wind. 

The use of water to settle the earth around the roots is some- 
times desirable in sections where the rainfall is light or uncertain. 
Pour in four or five gallons from the water wagon after the hand 
work in spreading the roots and in pressing the soil under and 
around them has been done and the hole partly filled. When the 
water has soaked away, fill the hole with fine earth without tramp- 
ing. In irrigated districts leading the water along the line of trees 
in a furrow to settle the ground at planting is a good practice. It 
is almost essential in the planting of evergreen trees, which are best 
moved during the dry season. In early planting in parts of the State 
w'here the rainfall is abundant, there may be no need of water- 
settling; puddling the roots, or dipping them in thin mud and plant- 
ing them with this maid adhering, is governed by much the same 



USE OF MANURE AT PLANTING 



103 



conditions as water-settling ; it may insure growth of the tree when 
otherwise it might be seriously injured by drouth. With puddled 
roots especial care should also be taken to leave the surface loose to 
prevent evaporation. In making puddle, use loamy soil and never 
adobe, for in dry time the latter will bake around the roots and may 
kill the tree. 

The Use of Manure. — Never put manure in the hole with the 
tree. Sometimes the injunction is. Never put anything but well 
rotted manure in the hole. It is better to put in none of any kind. 
Manure should be spread upon the ground after planting. The rains 
then leach it out and it may be turned under in the spring plowing. 
There are, however, light soils in the drier parts of the State where 
turning under manure in the spring is a disadvantage, as it makes the 
soil too porous and facilitates evaporation. On such soils, extra care 
should be taken to have the manure thoroughly decomposed by com- 
posting, and all applications should be made either late in the spring 
to act as a mulch in the summer, or if a mulch is not thought desir- 
able, apply the manure in the fall before the first rains, so that it may 
be turned under at the first plowing and have the whole winter for 
disintegration. In this dry climate there is often misapprehension, 
especially among newcomers, as to what is well-rotted manure. 
They take the scrapings of the corral, which have been trampled 
and pulverized, but which, having been kept dry, have never rotted. 
When this is put in the holes with the tree and then moistened by 
rainfall or irrigation, it will burn the tree, the first sign of injury 
being the drying up of the leaves. It is, on the whole, safest and 
best to put nothing but well-pulverized surface soil around the 
roots of the young tree. This injunction applies also to the use of 
commercial fertilizers in pushing the growth of young trees and 
vines. For this purpose about three pounds of "complete fertilizer" 
may be used. It should be scattered over a few feet of surface around 
the tree after growth has started in the spring. For the same pur- 
pose also one-half to one pound of nitrate of soda or of sulphate of 
ammonia instead of the "complete fertiHzer" — making the applica- 
tion in the same way and being particularly careful not to use too 
much and to scatter it well over the space designated. A young tree 
which is growing pretty well can stand more nitrate than one which 
is on the point of dying — but it should not be put in the soil around 
the roots. 

Depth of Planting. — The depth to which trees should be set has 
always been a matter of discord among the planters. The safest rule 
under ordinary circumstances is to get the tree as nearly as possible 
the same depth it stood in the nursery row ; that is, so as to have it 
stand that way when the ground has settled, or the surface returned 
by cultivation to its normal level. In planting in loose soil in the 
driei^ parts of the State, it is often desirable to plant rather low, 
because several inches depth of the surface soil become dry, and the 
roots should be well in the moist layer. But if irrigation is to be 
practised, it must be remembered that the water level will rise when 
the soil is sat'urated and deep-planted trees are apt to suffer. The 



104 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

experience of recent years is decidedly against deep planting, which 
used to be advised because of our dry climate. Thousands of trees 
have been ruined by planting too deep except in light sandy soil. 

Speed in Planting. — On good soil, well prepared, trees can be 
put in rapidly and the job still be well done. It is reported that on 
one occasion, in planting almonds, tjwenty men finished sixty-four 
acres from Friday noon to Wednesday night, placing the stakes, dig- 
ging the holes, and planting the trees. This would be almost three- 
quarters of an acre per day per man. In planting peaches and 
apricots an average of one hundred trees per day to the man has 
been attained. On the mellow loam, in another case, the average 
was one hundred and twenty-five trees to the man, digging holes 
two feet square in land which had been plowed twelve inches deep. 
Such work is only possible on good soil, well prepared, and by men 
who work well together. 

Mapping and Labeling. — Where mixed varieties of fruit are 
planted, the orchard should be mapped as soon as the trees are set. 
A good durable map is made of the glazed muslin, such as carpenters 
and architects use for their drawings. The map can be easily drawn 
to a scale by using a fraction of an inch to represent a foot. After 
the map is made, it can be rolled on a broom stick and easily pre- 
served. With such a record, the grower need not care what becomes 
of the labels, as he can locate a variety at any time by its row and 
tree number. If, however, one desires labels, let them be made in 
this way: Take a piece of common sheet zinc five inches wide. 
Across this, cut pieces three-quarters of an inch wide at one end and 
tapering to a point at the other. Near the wider end write plainly 
with a common lead-pencil the name of the variety. This will get 
brighter by exposure to the weather. The small end may be coiled 
around the branch of the tree ; it will yield as the tree grows and 
will do no injury. Such labels will last for a long time. Labels 
attached by a cord or wire should be removed as soon as the trees 
are set, for they are apt to be forgotten and the tree seriously in- 
jured by the cutting in of the ligature. Even when labels are used 
the map is the only surety, because any kind of a label is apt to be 
lost by accident or through malice or mischief of intruders. 

Mulching. — Although early planted trees on deep soils in regions 
of sufficient rainfall need only good cultivation, after planting, there 
are cases in which mulching is desirable. Various light materials 
may be used for a mulch, but nothing is better than well-rooted 
straw, in which fermentation has killed all weed seed. Apply it to 
a distance of two feet around the tree, and to a depth of not less 
than six inches. It is best done as soon as the tree is planted, and 
is to be especially recommended when late planting is practised. 
Even in localities of light rainfall, if the trees are well mulched 
early in the winter, irrigation may be unnecessary for the young 
deciduous tree. Trees planted very late in the spring may, by using 
great care and mulching well, make as great a growth as those set 
out early in winter. This should not be an excuse for late planting, 



PROTECTING TREES FROM SUNBURN ]^Q5 

but where late planting- is necessary, mulching will help the trees 
to pull through. It is a far easier way of keeping the ground moist 
than by irrigating, but is not a substitute for it where systematic 
irrigation is necessary, though irrigation may often be lessened, and 
in some cases obviated, by extra cultivation or mulching, at least 
until the trees come into bearing. 

Guarding Against Sunburn. — Newly-set trees should be pro- 
tected against sunburn. This can be easily done by winding strips 
of burlap from old grain sacks spirally around the stems beginning 
just below the ground surface to the points where the young shoots 
will appear. When these start the strip can be loosened and re- 
wound so as to protect the bark between the shoots. The top can 
be fastened with a stitch or two with a twine needle. Manufactured 
"tree protectors" of paper or rushes which are readily adjusted 
around the trees are now largely sold. 

Whitewashing is the most widely used preventive of sun-burning 
not only for young trees, but for old trees which may have bark ex- 
posed through pruning, grafting, etc. Sun-burning is not confined 
to summer time, therefore whitewash should be continually in place 
and durable whitewash is a desideratum. The following are good 
preparations : 

First, slake 62 pounds (one bushel) of quicklime in 12 gallons of 
hot water. Second, dissolve two pounds of common table salt and 
one pound of zinc sulphate in two gallons of boiling water. Pour 
the salt and zinc mixture into the lime and then add two gallons of 
skim-milk and mix thoroughly. If skim-milk is not handy, four 
pounds of flour boiled in four gallons of water may be substituted. 
For use thin with cold water to flow well. 

Another recipe is this : Dissolve five pounds of salt in six gallons 
of hot water and use this to slake thirty pounds of lime, stirring in 
four pounds of cheap tallow (or heavy oil or any other old grease) 
while the lime is still hot from slaking. Add water to the consistency 
desired. 

For use with a spray pump it is necessary to strain through bur- 
lap or a fine wire screen. 

The use of white lead and oil paint has seriously injured young 
bark and is dangerous. 

Cutting Back at Planting. — Whatever idea the grower may have 
as to shaping his tree, it must be cut back when planted. Lifting 
from the nursery has removed a considerable part of the root system 
of the young tree and the top must be reduced accordingly. The 
planter who dislikes to sacrifice the fine top will sacrifice future 
growth and vigor by retaining it. The tree may struggle through 
and regain strength, but it will for years be smaller than if it had 
been properly cut back at planting. If the moisture supply should 
be short the tree may die the first summer which would have sur- 
vived if differently treated at planting. The manner of cutting 
back depends somewhat upon the style of pruning to be followed 
afterward, as will be considered in the next chapter. 



CHAPTER XII 

PRUNING TREES AND THINNING FRUIT 

It is not intended to enter into a discussion of the general theories 
of pruning. The reader desiring to pursue them is referred to the 
abundant Hterature on the subject in Eastern and European treatises. 
The effort to approve or condemn these theories by considering them 
in the light of California experience and observation might lead to 
interesting conclusions, but it has no place in a work aiming merely 
at an exposition of what appears to be the most satisfactory practice 
in California fruit growing. It will be found that this practice varies 
somewhat in the different regions of California, sometimes in degree, 
sometimes in kind, because of different local conditions, and it might 
be found that nearly all reasonable theories of pruning could be 
verified in California experience. 

Pruning in California is chiefly undertaken as a shaping process. 
Our fruit trees are naturally so prone to bear fruit that pruning to 
produce fruitfulness is seldom thought of, and still more rarely 
practiced, while pruning to reduce bearing wood, and thus decrease 
the burden of the tree, is quite widely done, to take the place, in 
part, of thinning out the fruit. Pruning to restore vigor to the tree 
as in cutting it back to induce a new wood growth, is also rather a 
rare proceeding, but probably could be much more widely employed 
to advantage. We prune, then, for shape and for the many practical 
advantages which inhere in the form now prevailing in California 
orchards. Some of these advantages are peculiar to our climate ; 
others we share with those who advocate a similar form elsewhere. 
Our best orchards of the same fruits in adjacent localities are 
almost identical in form and general appearance of the trees, and 
those more distant differ chiefly in the extent to which the same 
principles are applied. And this is not because the trees are allowed 
to follow their natural inclination, which should secure resemblance, 
but because their natural bent is resolutely conquered by agreement 
of growers that they know what is good for the tree ; and this sub- 
stantial unanimity is the result of the experience of the last seventy 
years. People possessed of the art temperament sometimes com- 
plain of the depressing uniformity and artificiality of orchard-tree 
shapes in California. They are apt to lament the fact that systematic 
orcharding destroys the picturesquesness of tree-growth. They 
should understand that a picturesque fruit tree has no place in com- 
mercial fruit growing. The producing tree is an agency to serve 
certain purposes. The orchardist does not pursue uniformity for 
its own sake, but rather for the purpose it serves, and the fact that 
many thinking men have practically agreed upon a certain form as 
an ideal of producing ability is demonstration that such form is, at 
least, approximately correct. There is an industrial conception of a 
tree, which is necessarily and essentially different from a concetion 



WHY TRE-ES SHOULD BE PRUNED 



107 



of picturesquesness based upon the wild type. The wild tree is rude 
and crude from a cultural point of view. 

PRACTICAL PURPOSES OF PRUNING 

One of the first things for a beginner to undertake as he ap- 
proaches the practice of pruning trees and vines is to form a good 
idea of the purposes to be served. Imitation is not the foundation 
of intelligent pruning, though it yields many valuable suggestions. 
Satisfactory work rests upon a correct understanding of the reasons 
for each act and to the attainment of this, all study, observation and 
experience should tend. Possessing this, one can proceed capably, 
modifying method to meet condition, and producing desirable re- 
sults. Receive all suggestions and then go quietly to the tree and 
study your problem in its shade. The tree is the best revelator of 
its needs. Some of the best pruners in California are men who were 
untrained to horticulture before they entered upon their orchard 
work. Reading, discussing, systematic instruction are all valuable. 
They save much time and many errors, but recourse to the tree 
affords the sovereign test of attainment. 

These may be counted among the practical purposes to be at- 
tained by pruning in California: (a) Convenience of the grower; 
(b) health and strength of the tree ; (c) regulation of heat and light; 
(d) attainment of strong bearing wood ; (e) attainment of size in 
fruit; (f) promotion of regular bearing. Examine trees with refer- 
ence to their embodiment of these characters and one can hardly fail 
to secure rays of light upon the subject of pruning which seem dark 
to so many. 

Convenience. — Trees which branch near the ground are most 
quickly and cheaply handled in all the operations of pruning, spray- 
ing, fruit-thinning and picking. Low trees with obliquely-rising 
branches are more easily cultivated than any form with horizontal 
branches, unless the head is carried so high that the animals pass 
easily under the tree. To do this sacrifices all the other conveniences 
and economies which actually determine profit, and is really out of 
the question from a commercial point of view. Sometimes it does 
not pay to pick some of the smaller fruits like cherries and olives 
at a certain distance above the ground, when picking at half that 
distance may yield a profit. 

Health and Strength. — It is imperative in most parts of this State 
that the sunshine be not allowed to touch the bark during the heat 
of the day. This protection is secured even for young trees by low 
branching and encouragement of small, low laterals. The low tree 
with properly spaced main branches attains superior strength by 
virtue of thick, strongly knit, short growth between lateral branches, 
and by its strong, stiff, obliquely-rising growth sustains weight 
which brings horizontal branches to the ground, and thus even high- 
headed trees are liable to continually interfere with cultivation, and 
the desperate grower has to raise the head of his tree higher into 
the air and farther above the profit line, while at the same time he 



108 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



renders it more liable to sunburn, to bark-binding and to unthrift by 
forcing the sap to flow an unnecessary distance and through wood 
and bark which impede its movement. Besides a low tree escapes 
stress by strong winds which a high tree invites and at the same time 
is less able to withstand. Pruning for health and strength of tree 
also includes the removal of unthrifty or diseased parts, which are 
not only an incumbrance to the tree, but may communicate to other 
parts the causes of their ill condition. 

Heat and Light. — The maintenance of strong bearing wood in the 
lower part of the tree is conditioned upon the proper pruning of the 
top of the tree. How far the upper levels or the shade-layer of the 
tree can be safely opened, depends upon the local climate in each 
fruit region. The rule must be the higher the summer heat the 
denser the tree ; the lower the heat the thinner the tree ; but every- 
where the proper condition of openness must be constantly in view 
in pruning. Not alone must this be done to maintain thrifty growth 
below, but it is also essential to the best growth and ripening of the 
fruit in the lower and interior parts of the tree. Fruit inferior in 
size, color and quality results, in part, from lack of pruning to regu- 
late the admission of light and heat, sometimes one, sometimes both, 
to the shaded portion of the tree. 

Bearing Wood. — Good fruit develops on good bearing wood and 
good bearing wood is the product of proper degrees of light and 
heat, as has just been urged. But bearing wood in the case of some 
fruits is new wood, and reduction of old wood for the purpose of 
forcing the growth of new wood must be constantly in mind. Re- 
newal is more or less a consideration with all trees, and especially the 
securing of strong new wood. This is a point upon which close 
study of the bearing tree will yield most satisfactory suggestions. 

Size of Fruit. — The size of fruit, providing the tree is healthy 
and vigorous, depends upon the character and amount of bearing 
wood which the tree is allowed to carry. Removal of part of the 
fruit burden is done by thinning after it is well set, but this labor 
should always be minimized by antecedent pruning, which aims to 
retain more or less bearing wood according to the vigor, size and 
bearing habit of the tree. Thinning out of bearing shoots and spurs, 
when either are clearly seen to be in excess, should be the constant 
study of the pruner. 

Regular Bearing. — This point is largely involved in the preceding 
and affords an additional incentive. Regulating the amount of fruit 
borne in one year may involve the profit of two years, because a tree 
may not be able to produce an excessive amount of fruit and perfect 
good fruit buds for the following year. It may generally make buds 
which will bloom, but not always that. If it does make the bloom, 
it is no guaranty that the bloom will be strong and effective for 
bearing. Consequently, pruning for reasonable amount of bearing 
should always be borne in view and should be practised at the close 
of the year of non-bearing with particular diligence, if the alternate 
year bearing habit is to be broken up. 



FORMS OF TREES FOR CALIFORNIA JQQ 

The foregoing are among the practical purposes to be served in 
pruning. There are others, but these will suffice to emphasize a 
single point, and that is, that pruning can not be compressed into a 
single formula, nor can one learn it by a recipe. There are various 
ends to attain ; they may be attained in different ways, although it 
is not strange that substantial agreement in methods does largely 
prevail. It is better to try to understand the purposes than to memo- 
rize the formulae. Get the tree and its interest clearly in the mind ; 
have an ideal toward which to work ; be more interested in why a 
neighbor prunes in a certain way than how he does it. Learn con- 
stantly by all available means, and at the same time study the visible 
forms and aim to understand their fullest significance. 

FORMS OF TREE BEST SUITED TO CALIFORNIA 
CONDITIONS 

The form of deciduous fruit tree which prevails with singular 
uniformity all over the State is the "vase," or "goblet," or "wine- 
glass" form, all these terms signifying a similar shape. There are 
different ways in which this form is secured and maintained in dif- 
ferent parts of the State, and with different fruits, which will be 
especially noted in the chapters devoted to these fruits. 

The mainspring of success in California is to grow low trees. 
Low is a term admitting of degrees, it is true, and may imply a 
trunk six inches up to one or two feet, in the clear. In addition to 
the convenience of low-trained trees which has been mentioned, 
there are special reasons for this form in California. Hundreds of 
thousands of trees have been destroyed by the exposure of a long, 
bare trunk to the rays of the afternoon sun. The sun-burned sides 
have given the conditions desired by borers, and destruction has 
quickly followed. Sometimes young trees have not survived their 
first season in the orchard, because of burned bark, or this, with the 
added injury by the borers. It is also found by California experience 
that growth is more vigorous in the branches when they emerge near 
the ground. Even where actual burning may not occur the travel 
of the sap through the longer distance of trunk is undesirable. It is 
believed, also, that benefit results from shading of the ground at the 
base of the trees, by reducing evaporation, and by maintaining a 
temperature of soil better suited to vigorous root-growth. 

But whatever may be the reasons, the fact is indisputable, the 
higher the prevailing summer temperature, and the greater the 
aridity, the lower should the trees be headed. Trees which may do 
well in the central and upper coast region and adjacent to the bay of 
San Francisco, with twenty-four to thirty-six inches of clear trunk, 
would dwindle and probably perish in the heated valleys in all parts 
of the State. In such situation, both north and south, the best prac- 
tice is to head the tree fifteen, twelve, and even some hold as low 
as six inches from the ground. There will always be some difference 
of opinion as to detail, but the necessity of making the trunk short 
enough to be effectually shaded by the foliage is admitted by all 
growers. 



110 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Variations of the Vase Form. — There are several variations of 
the vase form to be found in California orchards. The prevalent is a 
vase form with short-jointed leaders (secured by systematic cutting- 
back) which will be described in detail as the "common vase form." 
Another, which is gaining in popularity, aims to grow leaders 
trained along in directions first chosen for them (without cutting 
back after the low head has been secured), and this may be described 
as the "vase form with continuous leaders." The latter method 
aims to secure more open centers and to produce fruit nearer to the 
leaders, or, as one may call them, the ribs of the tree — the figure 
having a rough resemblance to the ribs of an inverted umbrella. 
These open-center vase forms will be described in the chapters on 
the apricot and peach, to which fruits they have been chiefly applied. 

Vase-Form Without Cutting Back. — An interesting experiment 
in the development and retention of the vase-form without cutting 
back the main branches after the first year in the orchard has been 
undertaken on the University Farm at Davis under the direction of 
Dr. J. C. Whitten, head of the Division of Pomology of the Univer- 
sity of California. The shaping of the tree begins by cutting back 
at planting to get a low head, the framework of the tree being 
secured by selection of three main branches properly placed on the 
short stem. These branches are cut back during the first winter to 
16 to 24 inches in length and are not cut back afterwards — except 
in the case of excessive extension, when they may be shortened, if 
necessary, to a lateral which is to continue, as nearly as may be, 
growth in the same direction. Growth on these continuous leaders 





Forms of head resulting from cutting back 

Twelve-year-old apple tree in the writer's garden in Berkeley, showing forms of head 
resulting from cutting back for greater and less spacing of main branches at platiting. 



VASE FORM WITHOUT CUTTING BACK m 

is selected the following summer to make desirable branchings — all 
other shoots being tip-pinched to make a few leaves. After the 
leaders are well located in sufficient number, cutting back ceases and 
these main branches are kept properly clothed with bearing wood 
by thinning out supernumerary spurs and laterals and by pinching 
undesirable shoots during the growing season.* 

The method seems to be an improvement and extension to other 
deciduous fruits of the practice which has long been roughly fol- 
lowed in this State with apples, cherries, prunes and almonds which 
have for many years not been cut back after the young tree was 
properly headed and branched. It does however attach more im- 
portance to the dominance of main branches proceeding continu- 
ously and not zigzagging so much as in the common vase form. It 
also aims to preserve a more open center and by admitting light to 
the interior faces of the main branches to promote the growth of 
fruiting shoots or spurs upon them with good foliage which will not 
only give protection from sunburn, but will serve the future vigor 
and bearing of the tree much better than the robber-growth of 
multiple sprouts from cut-back branches. Too dense new growth 
is eliminated by thinning out shoots rather than by cutting back, 
and the growth of such supernumerary shoots is checked by 
summer-pinching. Dr. Whitten's belief is that by growing such 
main branches with such development of foliage there will be 
secured not only more and better fruit, but also a stronger tree to 
carry it, and at the date of this edition (October, 1921,) he is antici- 
pating from many orchard trials that his expectations, which are 
based upon protracted research both in plant physiology and orchard 
practice, will be realized. In due time, no doubt, the results of his 
faith and works will be published by the University of California, 
of which he heads the Division of Pomology. The current danger 
seems to be that growers of trees may mistake his advocacy of not 
cutting-back as equivalent to non-pruning, while it is, in fact, a 
claim for more elaborate, careful and intelligent pruning. Among 
questions to be decided are the acceptance by the tree of the method 
as best ministering to its requirements under cultural bondage and 
the availability of the method to the comprehension of the army of 
employes to whom the pruning of our vast acreage of commercial 
orchards must be entrusted. Evidently the method must be fol- 
lowed in all essential details of its principles and practices to secure 
the results claimed for it. 

Characteristic of the Common Vase Form. — This vase form 
which has been so widely and uniformly developed in this State that 
it has been called the "California Vase Form" is a product of French 
ingenuity in the training of dwarf trees, but it has undergone very 
marked modification in California, losing much of the accuracy of 
its outline and gaining vastly in speed of work and in bearing 
capacity of tree without sacrificing any practical value which in- 
heres in the design. 

*An excellent account, with details and illustrations, of starting trees toward a system 
of "longer pruning" with little cutting back after attainment of bearing age, is given in 
Bulletin 313, University of California Experiment Station by Prof. Warren F. Tufts. 



112 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



This vase form dispenses with the central stem or trunk at a 
certain short distance above the ground, but this is not done for the 
purpose of securing a hollow or open-center tree, which is a leading 
characteristic of the old European vase form. The few branches 
which are desired to grow from the short stem are pruned when the 
tree is young to induce successive branching with short interspaces. 
At each cutting the aim is to get two branches from one, and nearly 
as possible of equal vigor, so the California tree does not, except, of 
course, in occasional instances, show the outline of a leader from 
the bottom to the top, but there is a succession of branchings, turned 
this way or that by the skillful pruner, occupying available air 
space, distributing the weight so it comes more nearly over the cen- 
ter of gravity and at the same time knitting the fibers of the branch 
so that the weight of the fruit is well sustained. This idea, however, 
is not allowed to go so far as to wholly close the interior of the tree, 
but to retain such degree of open interior as is found desirable. 
When the tree is laden with fruit, the weight naturally expands 
the top quite enough to admit the sunlight without exposing either 
the fruit or the branches to danger of burning. Thus it appears that 
instead of the true vase or wine-glass, with hollow interior and thin 
walls, we have the general exterior outline of this model, but give 
a good part of the central area of the figure to bearing shoots, and 
thus secure a large bearing surface with well-strengthened supports. 

It has been believed that this many-branching form, developed 
upon a few main branches well placed upon the trunk, gives a 
I 






Pruning for branch spacing 

Yearling apple marked to cut back for greater or less 
space between main branches; also first year's growth 
from each beginning marked for first winter pruning. 



PRUNING THE TREE AT PLANTING 



113 



Stronger tree than can be had by growing a considerable number of 
leaders, all starting from near the point where the tree was headed 
at planting, which was common in earlier California practice. Such 
leaders crowd each other at the point of emergence from the stem, 
and when laden with fruit, sway outward and break out at this 
point. A vastly stronger tree is secured by starting but four or 
five branches from the low trunk and letting them emerge from 
different sides of the stem, and at different levels, as will be described 
presently. 

HOW TO SECURE THE COMMON VASE FORM 

For the benefit of the inexperienced reader, it will be well to 
illustrate the steps by which the form of tree so widely prevailing 
in this State is attained. 

Cutting Back at Planting. — This has been already mentioned as 
essential to strong growth of the transplanted tree. It is also the 
prime act in securing a tree with a low head and strong branches. 
Formerly trees were cut back farther than desirable and the 
branches allowed to crowd each other, as has just been stated. It 
is better to attain twenty-four inches of stem than twelve inches — 
providing care is taken during the first summer to prevent, by 
pinching, the growth of too many branches near together. Allow 
those to grow which are more distant from each other on the stem 
and pinch the intervening shoots. In this way one can have the 
lowest branch at six inches from the ground in the hot valleys if 
desired, or twelve inches in the coast valleys, and the highest branch 
at eighteen or twenty-four inches. This gives about twice the 
distance between the main branches which was formerly allowed, and 
it is of vast advantage to the strength of the tree. The illustrations 
of this fact on preceding pages are from trees planted by the writer 
in 1887 to test the matter. At this date they are large trees and 
show the forms of heads resulting from diiTerent spacing of branches 
on the young trees during the first summer's growth. 

First, then, cut back the tree just after planting, as shown in the 
engraving, deciding first at which height you wish trees to form 
heads, and cut them all back as uniformly as possible and still secure 
a good bud just below the point of cutting. To preserve these buds 
the trees should be handled carefully while removing from the 
nursery and during planting. 

If the tree has already grown laterals in the nursery where the 
head is desired, three or four of these properly placed on the stem 
may be selected to form the main branches, shortened in to the sound 
bud nearest the stem, and other laterals, not desired to form the 
head, removed. This treatment is shown in the engraving of a young 
peach tree well branched in the nursery. If all the laterals on the 
young tree have been trimmed up above where the head is desired, 
as is sometimes the case, it may be necessary to remove the whole 
top, and usually others will start below afterwards. If there are no 
buds visible on the stem at the place where the head is desired, the 



114 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

choice must be made between heading the tree higher up, where the 
buds are, or cutting back without regard to buds, trusting to the 
development of latent buds at the right place, or to the growth of 
a shoot from below, which can be cut back to form a head the fol- 
lowing year. It is for this reason, among others, that planters prefer 
a yearling tree which has not branched, but has good buds all along 
the stem. Peaches and apricots usually branch in the nursery, but 
usually have dormant buds at the bases of such branches which can 
be employed in making new growth where it is desired. 

After cutting back at planting, the shoots desired to form the 
head are allowed to make their full growth without interference. 
All shoots not desired for branches are pinched off at the tips, after 
growing out two or three inches, leaving the bunch of leaves to shade 
the trunk and contribute to its stouter growth. Constant watchful- 
ness is necessary to pinch off the tips of undesirable branches all 
the first summer. 

First Pruning. — In the winter following planting, the shoots of 
the previous season's growth are cut back to about ten or twelve 
inches from their jvmction with the stem. Some prefer to cut shorter, 
but this is apt to huddle the branches too close together when they 
get old and stout. Growers, however, do not agree on the exact 
length which these future main branches should be left at first 
pruning. 

If, during the first summer's growth, all shoots except the num- 
ber desired to form the head have been pinched back, the first winter 
pruning consists only in cutting back the main branches. If laterals 
have grown on the parts of these branches which are to be left on 
the tree, they should be cut back to a bud or two. Some growers 
practice cutting away all such laterals cleanly because they are too 
young to bear fruit, but it is better to shorten and retain at least a 
part of them and, when growth starts, pinch the tips after throwing 
out a few leaves to shade and thicken the branches, just as the short 
growths left the previous summer serve the main stem. These leaf- 
bearing stubs on young trees should generally be cleanly removed 
at the following winter pruning. 

Second Pruning. — During the second summer it is usual to allow 
two branches to grow from each of the main branches cut back at 
the previous winter pruning, and to pinch ofif all others, as described. 
These branches are allowed to run out their full growth, except 
where excessive growth is made, and then it is repressed by summer 
pruning. This is done with the apricot in the warmer parts of the 
State, as will be considered at length in the chapter on that fruit. 
Usually, however, the main branches are untouched during the 
second summer's growth unless some are running out so far as to 
make the tree lop-sided. During the following winter the main 
branches are cut back from one-half to two-thirds of the growth 
they have made, and if too many strong laterals have grown below 
this point, some are shortened, others are removed entirely where 
they are apt to cross or crowd each other or to interfere with culti- 
vation. It is not desirable, however, that all small growth should 



PRUNING BEARING TREES 



115 



be cleanly removed. Some of these small shoots will bear a little 
fruit and the leaf action is in any case desirable as a contributor to 
the strength of the larger branches to which they are attached. 
Besides, they serve to shade the bark from sunburn. 

Third Pruning. — When the tree reaches its third winter pruning, 
its form is well outlined, and early-bearing trees like the peach, 
apricot, almond, Japanese plum, etc., will give the grower a respect- 
able crop the next season. To bear this crop greater care should be 
taken at the third winter pruning to leave the small laterals low 
down on the main branches, for on them, clustered close in the head 
of the tree, most of the first crop will be found. Though some trees, 
as stated, do bear earlier than the third summer, the fruit is not 
usually considered of commercial account until the third summer. 
An engraving is given of a peach tree just after its second winter 
pruning. It is a very good representative of the common vase-form 
of a tree as grown in California. It has four main branches, each 
issuing from a different point on the stem, each permitted to carry 
two main branches, which are not arranged around the circumfer- 
ence, but some of them tending toward the center. At the third 
pruning more shoots have been left than are required by the rule, 
for, starting with four main branches, there are usually sixteen left 
at the third pruning. 



PRUNING BEARING TREES 

Three winter prunings of deciduous trees usually establish their 
permanent form, and subsequent pruning is chiefly directed toward 
the retention of that form ; for strength of branch and stem ; for 
renewal of bearing wood ; for regulation of amount of bearing wood ; 
for relative light and shade, and for convenience in cultivation and 
other orchard work. Naturally, these ends are sought according to 
the needs and habits of different fruits, and the methods of attaining 
them will be discussed in the chapters treating of these fruits. There 
are, however, certain general considerations which are proper in this 
connection : 

In the case of fruit trees in vigorous growth purning during the 
active period or allowing the wood to go uncut during the dormant 
period, have the same effect, viz., the promotion of fruiting. Some 
trees, like apricots and peaches, which bear upon new laterals, will 
bear fruit even though heavily winter-cut, if these small laterals are 
retained on the lower parts of the main branches. Some other trees, 
like the prune, which bears on spurs, will delay the formation of 
spurs if heavily winter-cut. These two facts suggest two diverse 
policies in pruning bearing trees : A peach tree unpruned will reduce 
its crop for lack or weakness of new laterals; a prune tree too 
severely winter-pruned will reduce its crop for lack of old spurs. 
Again, some fruits, or varieties of fruits, bear chiefly upon the tips, 
others chiefly upon the lateral spurs; shortening one reduces the 
crop largely ; shortening the other may increase the marketable crop 
by decreasing the aggregate number. These and other similar facts 



116 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



suggest that pruning bearing trees, to be intelligently pursued, must 
be accompanied with the fullest possible knowledge of the bearing 
habit of the fruit or variety thereof. 

Cutting back or "shortening in" should be done in a way which 
will reduce the burst of new shoots near the cut. This is measurably 
secured by always cutting the branch at a strong lateral, because 
the sap flow into this lateral prevents undue pressure and forcing 
of latent buds in the vicinity of the cut. For this reason the cutting 
back of all branches to a certain definite height is wrong. Trees 
shorn across at a certain line become thick as a brush with top 
shoots which require extensive thinning, or the bearing wood will 
soon be all at that level through failure of the densely shaded bear- 
ing wood below. Cut to the nearest lateral below the line you wish 
to approximate, and shorten the lateral, if desirable, and the result 
will be fewer and stronger shoots than from a stub-cut. 

In the treatment of bearing trees the main efifort should generally 
be toward thinning or reducing the number of bearing shoots. This 
is related to the important work of thinning the fruit to reduce the 
burden of the tree, and will be mentioned again in that connection. 
The work has, however, a bearing beyond the size of the individual 
fruit specimens. It involves the whole future of the tree as a profit- 
able affair. An unthinned tree becomes a thicket of small, weak, and 




Yearling peach. Cut back at planting. First summer's growth in the 

orchard. 

These sketches, and those on following pages represent the progress of the peach 
tree from a branched yearling to bearing form entering the third summer. 



PRUNING FOR FULL FRUITING 



117 



dying laterals and spurs. An attempt to cure this afterwards by 
sawing out many large branches is only partially successful, though 
perhaps the best thing that can be done after such condition has 
been allowed to exist. The only way to keep the interior of the tree 
full enough of strong, bearing wood is to resolutely and regularly 
thin out surplus shoots as the tree advances in age and size. This 
work is as important with trees which are not regularly cut back as 
with those which are thus treated. It is of the most vital as well 
as the most generally neglected item in orchard practice. 





First winter pruning. 



Second summer growth in orchard. 



In thinning out lateral bearing shoots seldom leave more than 
one at any point ; select the strongest ; remove the rest close to the 
branch. When a new shoot springs out at the base of an older one 
remove the older one ; when a new shoot breaks out on the side of 
an older one cut the older one back to that point. In thinning always 
reject the older, weaker laterals or spurs. This does not apply to 
the outbreak of strong suckers or water sprouts ; wherever they 
appear they should usually be cleanly cut away unless a new main 
branch is desirable. 

Pruning of bearing trees should always have regard to the re- 
moval of branches which have become decrepit through sunburn, 



118 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 




■~VrU 
Second winter pruning in orchard. 








TFu^MMm^,^ 



m' 



>> 






Yoimg apple and peach trees, showing branches well spaced on the stems. 



PRUNING AT DIFFERENT SEASONS 119 

blight of disease of any kind, frost injury, or in any form die-back 
from whatever cause. Such wood is not only of lessened value, but 
there is also danger of extension of the trouble. Removing such 
wood and training new wood to take its place should always be 
in mind. 

Where cutting of large branches is demanded for any reason it 
should be remembered that the wounds are most quickly healed and 
least injury to the tree is to be apprehended if the cutting is done 
near the beginning of the growing season, and not at the beginning 
of the dormant period. 




Weak tree from ill-spaced branches. 



TIMES FOR PRUNING 

Some changes of views have lately prevailed as to the times, 
within the dormant period, during which winter-pruning can be 
done to the best advantage. Formerly it was thought to be a vital 
matter that no cutting should be done until the leaves had fallen, 
and this is still the prevailing practice, and may prove to be on all 
accounts the best. Recently, however, pruning in autumn has been 
quite widely practised. 

Fall pruning. — There is a time near the end of the active season 
in California when the foliage changes its aspect. There is no 
marked change in color, perhaps, but there is a certain limpness and 
drooping which betokens decided decline in activity. It comes first 
to the early fruits, the cherries and apricots, for instance, and upon 
old trees earlier than young ones. The buds are well formed ; the 
season's growth apparently complete. There are no frosts to hasten 
the fall of the leaf and it remains in place. Does it render any im- 
portant service? On the conclusion that it does not, many growers 
begin the winter pruning while the days are longer and the ground 
dry and firm, rather than delay pruning until the short, dark days 
and rain-soaked soil of December and January render pruning ex- 
pensive and disagreeable. Those trees are first pruned which first 
assume the appearance described, and the work proceeds with other 
varieties afterwards until the winter pruning may be finished by 
December 1 — about the time when it commonly began under the old 



120 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

practice. Not only is more thus accomplished in the same number 
of days' work, but the orchard is earlier in shape for the winter 
spraying and cultivation, and the grower is ahead of his work and 
not behind it all the season if the season is unusually rainy. Several 
years' practice of this method discloses no bad results except in the 
one item of increasing danger from frost. Vines and trees pruned 
early in the dormant period have a tendency to start growth earlier 
than those pruned late in the dormant period. In places, then, where 
early bloom and fruit-setting are particularly threatened by frost, 
this practice may be undesirable. 

Spring Pruning. — Resting largely upon this matter of retarding 
growth, the practice of pruning very late in the dormant period, or, 
in fact, at the beginning of the growing season, is also gaining wider 
adoption where frost injury is especially feared. It is not actual 
freezing, but a drop of two or three degrees below the freezing point 
which is feared, and during recent years such a temperature has 
wrought havoc with some fruits, in early valley regions particularly. 
Later pruning, even after the bloom and foliage have appeared, has 
worked no injury to the trees, but it is less conveniently done than 
when the trees are free of foliage. 

Summer Pruning. — Summer pruning, to induce bearing, is, as has 
been previously intimated, but little employed in this State, for the 
constant tendency of our trees is to bear early and to overbear. 
Enough has, however, been done in individual cases to show that 
fruit-bearing is promoted by pruning after the chief growth of the 
season has been attained. If the pruning results in forcing out 
laterals late in the season it has been done too early. What is 
desirable is the strengthening or development of fruit buds, and 
this will be accomplished after the energy has been too far dissi- 
pated to make new wood growth. Such pruning of the earlier fruits 
like cherries and apricots is done as soon as the current crop of fruit 
is gathered. 

Summer pruning to check the too exuberant wood growth of 
some kinds of trees is employed to some extent, chiefly in the warmer 
parts of the State, where the vegetative process in some trees seems 
fairly to run riot, and unless checked is apt to ruin the tree by 
breaking to pieces when the wind and weight of fruit test its 
strength. The methods of summer pruning employed in different 
parts of the State for different fruits vv^ill be considered in connec- 
tion with the special chapters on these fruits. 

Summer pruning to preserve form is another matter, and relates 
in the main to pinching in, to check undesirable extension and to 
direct the sap toward shoots in which growth is desired. This prac- 
tice is approved by most of our orchardists, and is employed by them 
to a greater or less extent. More people believe in it than practice 
it, however, because the summer months, with their long succession 
of fruits to be gathered and shipped or dried, and the additional 
consideration that there is always a scarcity of labor at this time, 
give the orchardist so much work to do that he is more apt to con- 
fine his "pinching" to a little that he may do now and then when he 



CUTTING TO DIRECT GROWTH 221 

has a few moments' leisure than to do the work thoroughly and 
systematically. The result is that the regular winter pruning is the 
main operation for tree shaping in this State. 

There is such a great diflference in opinion about summer pruning 
that it will be very difficult to make any assertions about it which 
will not be disputed. Much of this difference comes, of course, from 
different conditions prevailing in different trees and in different 
parts of the State, and some of these will be met, as already prom- 
ised, in following chapters. Leaving these wholly out of considera- 
tion at this time, it is safe to advise those who wish to secure 
symmetry of any particular form in any kind of tree, that they can 
resort to summer pinching with advantage, and can sometimes to 
advantage remove wood too large for the thumb and finger to sever. 

Constant watchfulness should be maintained for adventitious 
shoots starting out on stem on limb at points where branches are not 
desired. Wherever they start out strongly, they should be pinched, 
or entirely removed, according to the best judgment to be formed in 
each case. They should not be allowed to divert the sap from the 
fruiting wood to make the generally coarse and sterile wood which 
is characteristic of them. Suckers which properly, according to 
Downing, are "shoots sent up from the root or from parts of the 
stem below the surface of the soil," should be removed whenever dis- 
covered. In common California parlance the term "sucker" is used 
as a synonym for "water-sprout" and signifies undesirable shooting 
from any part of the tree or vine. Early in the growth of these 
shoots, they can be pulled from the bark, leaving only a clean, 
round hole. Later they must be cut, for removal by pulling will tear 
the bark to which they are attached. 

CUTTING TO A BUD 

Whatever may be used to make the cut, it is important to sever 
the twig or shoot at that distance from a wood bud which gives that 
bud the best chance to grow well, and at the same time facilitates 
the healing and complete obliteration of the scar. Cutting too far 
from the bud leaves a stub which dies back, and is likely to carry 
decay into the pith and thence down into the limb. Cutting too close 
to the bud or carrying the slope down too far behind it, does not 
give it enough live wood to carry it, and it makes a weak growth. 
In cutting to a bud it is desirable to hold the shears so that the cut 
shall be from the sides of the shoot over the bud. 

Cutting to inside buds with trees of spreading habit, and to out- 
side buds with upright growers, or to a side bud when lateral exten- 
sion is desired, should always be remembered as a means of throw- 
ing new growth in the direction demanded by symmetry and equal 
occupation of the space allotted to the tree. This is one respect in 
which study of the habit of the tree suggests proper practice. 

COVERING WOUNDS 
Whenever wood is cut with so great diameter that it will not 
grow over in one season, the wound should be coated with some- 



122 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

thing to keep the wood from checking and decaying. It has been 
amply demonstrated by California experience that smooth-paring of 
the cut made by shears or saw is a waste of time. Large wounds 
should, however, be covered to prevent checking of the wood and 
drying back of bark edges. For this covering lead and oil paint 
may be used — a little thicker than for ordinary use, and applied 
sparingly, so that it will not run down the bark. Asphaltum, 
"Grade D," applied warm, is now widely approved. It can be very 
satisfactorily applied with a brush made by cutting up baling rope 
into 14-inch lengths, bundling them to the thickness of one and a 
half inches, and winding wnth string tightly at intervals of one inch 
from top to bottom, only one end being frayed out to form a brush. 
As fast as this end wears off, one of the strings can be cut to give 
renewed length to the frayed end. 

GATHERING UP PRUNINGS 

Gathering up prunings for burning is tedious and expensive, and 
several efforts have been made to substitute machinery for hand 
labor. Anderson's Brush Rake, invented by W. C. Anderson, of San 
Jose, has been used to some extent. It readily gathers all kinds of 
tree and vine brush, compresses it considerably and is easily dis- 
charged of its load by a slight lift while still going forward. It is 
said to save about one-half the cost of hand raking. Brush is often 
gathered into windrows by the use of horse rakes borrowed from 
the hay field. 

Baling Prunings. — There is a fuel value in prunings which has 
become more clear since pumping for irrigation is so widely prac- 
ticed, but loose prunings are too expensive in handling. T. G. 
Rogers, of Winters, has contrived a "brush baler." It is a large 
strong saw-horse inverted, to which is bolted a long, heavy lever. 
Attached to a cross piece on the lever are four heavy tines bent in a 
semi-circle. The saw-horse is filled with brush, the lever is then 
pulled down and fastened by a ratchet brake, the brush is forced 
into a small, compact bundle, and when bound with wire makes a 
bundle easily handled by the fireman. 

Prunings for Fertilizing, — Although many propositions for re- 
turning prunings to the soil and several machines for cutting have 
been used, such practice has never widely prevailed because of cost 
of labor involved. Several growers have, however, used a heavy 
feed cutter, run by a gasoline engine, and both mounted on a 
wagon-bed, and run through the orchard after pruning. Two men 
pick up prunings and feed them into the cutter as the wagon slowly 
proceeds. This waste from an evergreen tree seems to decay very 
readily in the soil as it is covered in by cultivation. 

PRUNING TOOLS 

There is some difference of opinion as to the comparative value 
of the pruning knife and the pruning shears. The knife, if sharp, and 
well used, makes a smooth cut, with no bruising of the bark, and 



HOW TO RENEW OLD TREES 



123 



such a wound heals over perfectly. The shears, if of good pattern 
and sharp, also make a very good cut, but there is always some little 
injury to the bark on the side opposite the entry of the blade. On 
small cuts, say three-quarters of an inch or less, if the blade is kept 
very sharp, the resistance does not make sufficient injury to the bark 
to seriously consider, and the speed with which the shears can be 
used renders them the main reliance for all the smaller pruning. 
Nearly all styles of hand shears are used in this State. 

There are, also, two-hand shears, which are very powerful, and 
enable one to work very quickly. When kept well sharpened they 
are very effective tools. There are a number of styles in use, both 
home-made and imported. 

Still another arrangement of shears is mounted on a pole, the 
cutting blade being operated by a cord, and having a spring to throw 
the blade back. The pole is jointed, so that one or more lengths can 
be used. With this device one can stand on the ground and shorten 
in the top shoots of a tree very handily. 

For larger cuts than can be made with the pruning knife or with 
hand shears, there are pruning saws of different styles, of which two 
styles are chiefly used. One has a frame made of the best spring 
steel, constructed somewhat on the plan of a butcher's saw, except 
that the saw blade is much narrower ; and instead of being station- 
ary, it revolves so that the pruner is enabled to adjust the blade to 
cut at any angle, as is often necessary to do when cutting where 
limbs grow close together, and where it would be impossible to use 
an ordinary saw of a wider blade. The blade is only one-fourth to 
one-half inch wide, and therefore not liable to get pinched in the cut. 
Strength is imparted by a tension screw under the handle, which 
tightens the blade. The blade is easily detached by slackening the 
tension screw, and lifting the blade out of the slot in the clutches 
at each end. The blade can be thus reversed and made to cut with 
a push or a pull, as may be desired. 

Another popular saw is the curved pruning saw, with twelve and 
fourteen-inch blades, which cuts with a pull. 

During recent years it has been possible to find quite full assort- 
ments of pruning tools at the hardware and general merchandise 
stores in all our fruit districts where these devices can be compared 
and selection made according to individual preference, for there can 
be no best tools for all men and all uses. 

RENEWING OLD TREES 

Improving and renewing trees by cutting back and grafting has 
already been considered under the head of propagation. It is often 
desirable to renew trees of a satisfactory variety, and this is done 
simply by cutting back when the tree is dormant. Cutting back was 
formerly done early in the winter, before the rise of the sap begins, 
but more recently it has been seen that the exposure of large cut 
surfaces for weeks or months before growth begins, results in drying 
and shrinkage of the bark and checking of the wood, both of which 
are avoided by amputation later in the dormant period or during the 



124 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

early part of the growing season. In cutting back, of course, those 
stumps should be left to support new branches which will secure the 
best balance and symmetry in the new head. When the new growth 
starts there generally appear many more shoots than are desirable, 
and selection of the best-placed and most vigorous should be made, 
the others either being rubbed ofif in the bud or pinched back when 
a few leaves are put out. In cutting back trees, the exposed trunk 
and branch stumps should be wrapped in old sacking, or carefully 
whitewashed as protection from sunburn. 

In removing large limbs it is desirable that the cut should be 
made in the right place so as to secure quick covering of the scar 
with new growth. Cutting so as to leave a long stub results in an 
unsightly piece of dead wood on the tree, and this, in decaying, 
carries the decay deep into the center of the trunk or branch. Cut- 
ting too close prevents covering with the new bark, and also results 
in a hole in the trunk or branch. Cutting just to the right mark, 
which is the outer edge of the little collar or swelling which will be 
found at the base of all branches, enables the wound to grow over 
quickly, and if the wound is properly treated when cut, there will 
be no decay, and the wound will soon be obliterated. Old cavities 
in trunks or large branches should be excavated of all decaying 
material down to sound wood and filled with Portland cement, if 
small, and with concrete made of one part of cement to three parts 
of sharp sand, if the cavity is of considerable size. The filling should 
be firmly tamped into place and when it has hardened should be 
covered with hot asphaltum. 

Renewal of an old tree must be undertaken with a careful study 
of its present form and character, and it should be done by an ex- 
perienced pruner who has a good idea of what good form and thrift 
are and will work over each tree to meet its individual needs and 
possibilities. Generally speaking, the main efforts in such pruning 
are four — (1) to saw off cleanly all stubs from broken branches; (2) 
to remove branches which are weak or dead or are running across 
others which are better to keep or which are making the tree too 
dense and brushy ; (3) to shorten to well placed laterals, branches 
which are growing downward or sidewise so as to interfere with 
light and space belong to other branches or interfere with cultivation 
or other orchard operations; (4) to remove, if otherwise possible, 
branches which are throwing the tree out of shape and likely to 
induce breakage or blowing over. 

In amputating large branches, an undercut with the saw should 
be made first so that the bark shall not be torn as the branch falls. 
Another good way is to saw off first at a distance from the final cut, 
and then saw off smoothly at the right place when the weight is 
removed. 

Trees sometimes become "hide-bound," as it is called. The bark 
gets dry and tough, and apparently cannot expand as the growth 
of the tree demands. Slitting such trees here and there up and 
down the trunk and main limbs with a sharp knife seems to have 
good effect, for often in three months the cut opens half an inch, 
and a fine, clear bark, with an increase of growth, results. Bark- 



WHY FRUIT MUST BE THINNED 125 

slitting, however, as a cure-all for tree troubles is irrational and 
probably an aggravation of ill-condition. On old trees, too, there 
is often a growth of moss and lichens which should be removed. 
This can be done by scraping off the rough, loose bark and spraying 
w4th an alkaline wash, composed of one pound of caustic soda or 
potash to six gallons of water. If scale insects are present, the lime, 
salt, and sulphur spray should be used, as will be described in the 
chapter on injurious insects. This will remove the parasites, give 
the trees a clean, bright bark and contribute to their vigor. 

But the renovation of neglected fruit trees is not usually a mat- 
ter of pruning and spraying alone. Generally, also, success depends 
upon good cultivation and wise use of fertilizers ; also sometimes 
of irrigation, and sometimes of drainage. 



SUPPORTS FOR BEARING BRANCHES 

Props of 1x3 lumber or of light poles are commonly used. A 
great amount of ingenuity has been displayed by growers in the 
use of galvanized wire ; wiring from opposite branches to each 
other through the tree ; carrying wires from all branches to a ring 
in the center of the tree ; carrying a wire around the tree and 
stapling each branch to it, etc. No clear preference can be declared 
in method of wiring, for each grower prefers his own method and 
condemns all others. On the whole but little wiring is done. 

Repairing broken trees where one or more main branches has split 
out from the trunk is feasible if one is a good mechanic and has 
proper outfit. A single limb can be drawn back to place with a 
block and tackle attached to remaining limbs and bolted to the 
trunk. Even when all branches have split down a pole equipped 
with block and tackle is set beside the trees so the limbs may be 
raised all at once to their former positions. Two to four bolts will 
tighten all together ; and the limbs additionally supported by wires 
to staples in limbs on opposite sides. The cracks should be painted, 
and will heal over. The largest washers that fit should be used, 
and washers, bolts and staples will disappear as the tree grows over 
them. Trees thus repaired are still serviceable in different parts of 
the State twenty or thirty years after the operation. 

Trees which blow over in the dormant season can also be drawn 
back to place with team or tractor with block and tackle from proper 
anchorage and propped in place with scantlings, etc. Such trees 
have re-established themselves strongly. 



THINNING FRUIT 

Intimately connected with the pruning of bearing trees, is the 
thinning of the fruit or proper spacing of the individual fruits so 
that each shall have space and sap to allow its attainment of satis- 
factory marketable size. It has been fully demonstrated that no 
demand is profitable which will be content with the undersized fruit 
from an overladen tree. The superior price for good-sized fruit for 



126 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

all uses, not excluding drying, is unquestionable ; the total weight 
secured may be variable as between thinned and unthinned trees, 
but it can be accepted as an indisputable fact that any increase of 
weight there may be upon an unthinned tree will not be nearly an 
equivalent for the loss in value. It is the conclusion of our largest 
and most successful growers that large as is the expenditure re- 
quired for careful and systematic thinning of fruit, it is the most 
directly profitable outlay which they have to make for orchard 
maintenance. 

Objects in View in Fruit Thinning, — But thinning fruit has 
objects beyond the value of the visible crop which it makes profit- 
able. No overburdened tree can discharge the two-fold summer 
duty of every cultivated fruit-bearing tree, which is to perfect this 
season's fruit and lay a good strong foundation for next year's 
bearing. If the tree, after fruit gathering, has not the strong, vig- 
orous foliage to complete the formation of fruit buds for the fol- 
lowing year, there will either be a lack of bloom or a show of bloom 
unfit to set, and the tree will work for itself next year, and not for 
you, because this year you would not work for it. 

When to Thin Fruit. — Thinning of fruit should begin with the 
winter pruning of bearing trees, as has been already urged in con- 
nection with regulating the amount of bearing wood allotted to each 
tree. After this is carefully done, there is the thinning of bloom, 
which is urged on the ground of least possible loss of energy by the 
tree in the partial development of fruit to be subsequently removed. 
Hand-thinning of individual blooms is impracticable on a commer- 
cial scale, but the removal of spurs or twigs, or shortening of them 
with shears, is feasible enough. The objection must lie in the fact 
that profusion of bloom does not necessarily indicate an excessive 
set of fruit, and any severe reduction of bloom is, therefore, ven- 
turesome unless one is fully assured by local experience of the habit 
of the variety under treatment. Reduction of the amount of fruit 
itself is, therefore, the only safe proceeding, and this should not, as 
a rule, be taken until the first drop, though lack of pollination, has 
taken place. Even at greater theoretical loss of energy to the tree, 
it is better to err on the side of thinning a little too late than too 
early in order to secure the fullest assurance possible of the perma- 
nent burden which the tree assumes. Where spring frosts are likely 
to occur they afford additional reason for delay. If surety of the 
local conditions comes before the pits harden in the young fruit it 
is fortunate for the tree, but even after that it is still a greater 
saving to the tree and assurance of profit to the grower to reduce 
the fruit to a proper amount than to permit over-bearing. 

The Practice of Thinning. — If the tree has not been sufficiently 
relieved of an excess of bearing wood during the winter pruning and 
has made a very heavy set of fruit, thinning with the shears by cut- 
ting out whole spurs or short bearing shoots, or even shortening in 
longer limbs, cutting always to a lateral when possible, is of no 
appreciable injury to the tree. After all the shear-work possible is 



THE PRACTICE OF THINNING FRUIT 127 

done, the spacing of the fruits on the twigs and branches must be 
provided for. This was done in early days by beating the tree with 
a pole, and some still maintain that they can use the pole to advan- 
tage. The almost universal practice, however, is to use the hand in 
plucking or pushing off the small fruit. This is done very quickly 
by experienced workmen. If the trees are low, as they should be, 
most of the work can be done from the ground. It is best to work 
in vertical spaces and take all that can be reached from top to 
bottom without changing position ; then move a step or two and 
take another vertical strip, and so on. In thinning above reach 
from the ground ordinary fruit-picking ladders are used. Some 
growers mount a platform above a wagon-bed, working around the 
tree, and assurance is given that a man will thin off as much fruit 
from such a platform as two can from ladders. 

The distance which should be left between specimens depends 
upon conditions. It is as unsatisfactory to thin by rule of inches as 
it is to prune by such a rule. The space to each fruit depends upon 
the kind, the age, vigor and strength of the tree, the size and thrift 
of the lateral or spur, which carries the fruit, the moisture supply, 
the richness of the soil, etc. It also depends upon what use is to be 
made of the fruit, because it is possible to have some fruit which is 
too large for certain demands, though this objection does not often 
arise. The strength of the shoot is perhaps the most easily appreci- 
able factor. With peaches, for instance, a shortened lateral one- 
eighth of an inch in diameter should only carry one peach, while one 
one-quarter of an inch in diameter might mature four good large 
fruits. It would evidently be wrong to work for an arbitrary inch- 
distance on all sorts of shoots, and it will be seen to be just as 
irrational if it be applied without regard to the other conditions of 
the tree. If, however, a rule must be had, let it be this, that the 
distance between the fruit shall be two and one-half times the 
diameter desired in the fruit. This would fix an arbitrary distance, 
then, of four to six inches for apricots and six to eight inches for 
peaches — with other fruits according to their respective sizes, and 
the late varieties with greater distance than early. 

Any such standard, however, considers only the size of the fruit, 
not the strength of the tree, and therefore stops short of one of the 
important ends of thinning — to conserve the strength of the tree for 
next season's fruiting. Fruits might be thus spaced and still the 
tree be overladen, because it may be carrying too many bearing 
shoots. Calculate the burden of the tree in this way, for instance : 
Peaches which weigh three to the pound are of fair marketable size ; 
sixty such peaches will fill an ordinary peach box of twenty pounds ; 
ten to twelve such boxes is fruit enough for a good bearing tree six 
to ten years of age. Now count the little peaches you have left on 
one main branch and its laterals, which ought to be about one-tenth 
of the tree, and thin down to about sixty. By doing a few trees in 
this way and thinking of the relation of the bearing wood to the 
fruit, one will soon get a conception of the proper degree of thinning, 
and proceed to realize it as rapidly as the fingers can fly along the 
branch. 



J2g CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

It is seldom desirable to divide doubles in peaches ; pull both off 
or leave both on, as they may be needed or not to make the load of 
the tree. Clusters of apples or pears should often be reduced to 
singles, except where size is apt to be too great. 

All kinds of fruit are clearly subject to increase of size by thin- 
ning, but it is with only the larger fruits that the practice prevails at 
present. The dividing line seems to lie upon the prune. With this 
fruit thinning is only done by pruning the tree for the reduction of 
the number of bearing branches, while with some shipping plums 
hand thinning is practised. Growers are still striving for a prune 
naturally of larger size rather than to have recourse to thinning. 

The practice of thinning partially at first, trusting to further 
removal of fruit later if too much of it survives the natural drop and 
various accidents, is followed by some growers, but the rule is to 
finish at one operation. 

The size of oranges on over-burdened trees can be increased by 
thinning, just as other fruits are enlarged, but it is not systematically 
undertaken, because it is not so necessary and because it is perhaps 
easier to get oranges too large and to be discounted for over-large 
and coarse fruit. Removing part of the fruit from young trees is 
often done — for the good of the tree, not for the good of the fruit. 



CHAPTER XIII 



CULTIVATION 



It was demonstrated very early in California experience in fruit 
growing, that "clean culture" is generally the proper treatment for 
trees and vines during the growing season, at least. Though the 
frequent stirring of the soil and eradication of grass and weeds have 
been advocated by certain horticulturists for generations and have 
recently been demonstrated to be desirable by careful comparative 
experiments it has nowhere secured such wide adherence as in Cali- 
fornia. It may even be held to be an essential to successful growth 
of tree and vine in most soils and situations of California, and the 
several advantages of clean culture are intensified under our con- 
ditions. 

Chief of these advantages is the maintenance of the soil in a con- 
dition favoring root growth, and the main feature of this condition 
is the retention of the moisture, though aeration and regulation of 
summer temperature in the soil are also involved. Where moisture- 
retention is not the chief concern, because of ample irrigation facili- 
ties, and the moderation of soil temperature of greater moment, a 
summer-growing cover crop may be of benefit to the trees. In irri- 
gated districts of excessive heat and dry air this policy is successful, 
but it may always be only the exception to the rule of clean culture 
for the greater part of our fruit-growing areas. 

Retaining Moisture by Cultivation. — It is a familiar fact that 
water will rise in a tube of exceedingly small diameter very much 
higher than the surface of the body of water in which the tube is 
held upright. The water rises by capillary attraction. A compact 
soil has extending through it, minute spaces, formed by the partial 
contact of its particles, which facilitates the rise of water from moist 
layers below, in accordance with the same principle which causes the 
water to rise in the capillary tube. This movement is constantly 
going on in firm soil, and as fast as the top layer is robbed of its 
moisture by evaporation, the water rises from below and it too is 
evaporated. During the long, dry summer, the water rises and is 
evaporated from a depth of several feet in some soils, and the earth, 
beneath the baking sun heat, becomes "dry as a brick." 

When a soil is broken up by cultivation, capillarity is temporarily 
destroyed through the disturbed layer, because the particles are so 
separated that the mutual connection of the minute inter-spaces no 
longer exists. But if it be only roughly broken up, so that the dis- 
turbed layer takes the form of coarse clods, the air has free access 
to the upper surface of the firm soil beneath them, in which the 
capillary condition still exists, and evaporation proceeds in the same 
way, though in a somewhat less degree, as if there had been no culti- 
vation. It becomes evident, then, that the pulverization of the dis- 
turbed layer must be so complete that the particles are separated 



220 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

and capillarity destroyed, and, further, that the free access of air to 
the lower point, where capillarity exists, must be prevented. This 
is accomplished by the fine loose earth which acts as a mulch. When 
this is attained, only that moisture in the upper surface which comes 
in immediate contact with the air is evaporated, and the balance is 
largely retained for the use of the plant. Plants growing, then, in a 
well-cultivated soil, have the water in the lower soil held for their 
use, and their supply is replaced from the firm soil below, which re- 
mains moist and permeable by roots which extend freely, seeking the 
nourishment they need. 

Such is a brief outline of the theory which explains the results 
gained by thorough cultivation of the soil, so far, at least, as reten- 
tion of moisture is concerned. The practical demonstration is easy. 
Go into a well-cultivated orchard or vineyard, push aside the soil 
with the foot, and moisture will be found two or three inches from 
the surface, or even less in some soils, while on uncultivated land 
adjacent, digging to the depth of several feet will show nothing but 
hard earth, baked and arid. In such hard-baked earth, moreover, 
the sun heat is conveyed or conducted downward very rapidly during 
a hot day, so that in some cases the roots are seriously injured. 
When the surface is well tilled, it will act like a blanket, preventing 
a too rapid conveyance of heat downward, and thus also diminishing 
the intensity of evaporation. 

Accurate demonstration of these facts has been secured as the 
result of many moisture determinations in cultivated and unculti- 
vated soil by the University of California Agricultrual Experiment 
Station.* The exact determination of moisture present at various 
depths of the soil beneath these contrasted orchards in the month of 
July is as follows : 



Cultivated. 

Depth in soil. Per cent 

First foot 6.4 

Second foot 5.8 

Third foot 6.4 

Fourth foot 6.5 

Fifth foot 6.7 

Sixth foot 6.0 

Totals, six feet . . 6.3 756 4.2 512 





Uncultivated. 






Tons per acre. 


Per cent 


Tons 


per acre. 


128 


4.3 




86 


116 


4.4 




88 


128 


3.9 




78 


130 


5.1 




102 


134 


3.4 




68 


120 


4.5 




90 



This shows a gain of nearly fifty per cent of soil moisture by 
cultivation. 

Rise of Water from Greater Depths. — The foregoing facts apply 
to the movement of moisture from the stratum which the roots of 
fruit trees chiefly occupy — estimated to be to a depth of about four 
feet from the surface when the soil is hospitable to them to that 
depth. Formerly it was generally argued that moisture would rise 
by capillarity from moist subsoils below that depth to replace the 
exhaustion of moisture from the upper layer and therefore surface 
cultivation would render all the lower water ultimately available for 



'Bulletin 121. 



WHY TREES NEED CULTIVATION 131 

the use of the tree. It has recently been shown, however, that the 
rise of moisture from a deep moist layer to a drier layer above is 
slow and limited, and the practical lesson is that even with a deep 
soil and the best of cultivation, irrigation if often desirable for trees 
which for any reason are not inclined to root very deeply and help 
themselves to deep-lying moisture. 

Necessity of Adequate Cultivation. — It has been very fully dem- 
onstrated by California experience that adequate depth of tilth must 
be attained. The depth of cultivation, or the thickness of the dust- 
mulch, as some like to call it, must be sufficient to prevent the access 
of the dry air to the firm soil below. At the East, where they have a 
moister air, a thin mulch may answer, but in California, with a 
thirsty air for such a protracted period, there must be deeper tilth. 
Two or three inches of dust spread over a hardpan layer formed in 
some soils by cultivation, will not retain moisture well in California. 
The cultivator should go twice that depth, ordinarily, and then the 
result will be accomplished if it is done frequently enough to prevent 
the re-firming of the surface by atmospheric moisture or by the rise 
of moisture from below. 

Loss of Moisture by Weed Growth. — One of the most active 
agencies for the exhaustion of moisture from the subsoil is the 
growth of weeds. To cultivate the soil in winter and spring, and 
then to allow a summer growth of weeds to "shade the soil" is a 
great error. Although under cover of rank weeds moisture may 
appear even at the surface and convey the impression of moisture- 
saving, the fact is, as fully demonstrated by experience and actual 
experiment, the moisture in the lower layers of the soil is reduced 
and trees are thus robbed of their supply. Weed growth must be 
resolutely suppressed during the dry season, if one has to operate 
by rainfall or desires to make best use of irrigation water. 

Moisture Storage in the Soil. — Conservation of moisture in the 
soil is not only the surety of the current season's growth and fruit- 
fulness, but is the safeguard against injury from the years of de- 
ficient rainfall which occur now and then in California. The mois- 
ture supply is equalized by this storage of the soil, and a surplus 
from the liberal rainfall of one year is held over to supply the lack 
of the next. Of course, the well-cultivated surface is also well calcu- 
lated to catch water. While from a hard surface much of a heavy 
rainfall flows off quickly to a lower level before it can penetrate, a 
loose soil, if sufficiently deep, retains all that falls upon it, except 
the excess, which disappears by drainage. 

It has sometimes been held by California orchardists that plant- 
ing some tall-growing crop, like corn, so as to shade the young tree 
and the ground around it, is an advantage. This is a great mistake. 
Though some rich, moist soils may afford moisture enough to grow 
both the tree and the corn, it is a fact that in most cases the growth 
of the corn is made at the expense of the tree, and sometimes almost 
costs its life and thrift. It has been amply shown by investigation 
that though shading ground by a leafy growth may make the sur- 



132 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

face layer of the soil moister, the lower layers are invariably made 
drier, and it is in these lower layers, to a depth of several feet, that 
the tree seeks its sustenance. The young tree should be shaded by 
its own foliage and protected from sunburn to the bark by white- 
washing, as has been described in the chapters on planting and prun- 
ing, and not by a growing plant. 

GROWING CROPS BETWEEN TREES AND VINES 

The possible advantage of a cover growth of clover in regions of 
high heat and ample moisture has been noted at the opening of this 
chapter. The rule, however, must be to grow nothing whatever be- 
tween the trees if you desire the full success of the latter. As with 
all rules, this one may admit of exceptions. 

Inter-cultures in orchard or vineyard may be allowed under 
certain conditions of the soil and the purse of the grower. If the 
soil is deep and moist and rich, the cost of planting and cultivation, 
and sometimes more, may be made by growing a crop among your 
trees. Of course, if irrigation is available, much more can be done 
in this direction than if dependent upon natural supplies of water. 

There is much difference as to crops in amount of injury they may 
do to the trees. Growing alfalfa, without irrigation, has been known 
to kill out an orchard, and yet alfalfa growing in an orchard under 
certain conditions may be a great advantage in some ways, as de- 
scribed in the next chapter. Grain is less dangerous, but still is 
objectionable, both because of exhaustion of soil and moisture, and 
because of danger to trees from heat deflected from straw and 
stubble. The crops least injurious, because of their requirements, 
and because the constant cultivation of them checks the loss of mois- 
ture by evaporation, are corn, beans, potatoes, beets, carrots, etc., 
squashes, and other members of the melon family, onions, and other 
shallow-rooting vegetables. In the growth of these, however, there 
should be a width of several feet of well-cultivated soil on all sides 
of the tree, unoccupied. 

In soils exceptionally rich and deep, and where rainfall is abun- 
dant, inter-cultures of small fruits or vegetables may be carried on 
for a long series of years with profit both from the trees and the 
inter-culture. In similar deep, rich soils, with irrigation, immense 
crops of small fruits and vegetables, even as high as twelve to 
twenty-four tons of tomatoes per acre, have been taken from between 
orchard rows, and one hundred and fifty sacks of onions per acre 
from between the rows of a strawberry plantation. In Ventura 
county some fields of lima beans, in favorable years, have paid over 
$70 per acre — grown between young trees. In other parts of the 
State considerable amounts of peas for sale to canners aie grown 
between the rows in young orchards. This crop is especially desir- 
able when good sale is assured, because the plant is hardy and can 
make a good part of its growth during the rainy season and the 
ground be cleaned up and well cultivated early in the summer. As 
beans and peas are legumes, their roots enrich the soil, as will be 
noted in the chapter on fertilization. 



INTER-CROPPING WITH FRUITS J 33 

How Exhaustion by llnter-Culture May Be Avoided, — But all 

inter-cultures are a loan made by the trees to the orchardist. The 
term may be very long and the rate of interest very small in some 
cases, but sooner or later the trees will need restitution to the soil 
of the plant food removed by inter-cropping. This may be accom- 
plished by the use of fertilizers. Still the rule that the trees or vines 
should have all the ground is generally true. It is also true that on 
merely ordinary soils, trusting to rainfall, or on shallow soils, trust- 
ing in part to irrigation, the trees or vines should have the full 
strerbgth of the land and all the help which can be given them in the 
shape of thorough cultivation and intelligent cover-cropping. 

METHODS OF TILLAGE 

In general terms the main objects of tillage of orchard and vine- 
yard are two: Winter cultivation for moisture reception, and sum- 
mer cultivation for moisture retention. 

Wherever early winter plowing can be done without too great 
danger of soil washing, it affords the best available means of admit- 
ting water to the great reservoir in the lower levels of a deep soil. 
Too frequently large volumes of rain water, enriched by air-washing 
as it falls and by fine soil-particles as it flows, are allowed to run ofif 
into the country drainage, with the double loss of fertility and mois- 
ture to the fruit grower. Deep penetration of winter rains should 
be, in all safe ways, promoted. Cultivation for retention has already 
been strongly urged and is quite generally recognized. 

To serve these chief purposes there are two main divisions of 
practice in this State, each of which has variations of greater or less 
importance. 

First : Winter plovving followed by frequent use of cultivator and 
pulverizer in summer. 

Second : Use of disk or other cultivators at intervals both winter 
and summer, following, if needed, with pulverizer in the summer. 

The main features of each division of practice, and some of the 
claims by which each method is supported by its advocates, will be 
noted. 

Plowing Orchard and Vineyard. — There is considerable variation 
in the practice of plowing orchard and vineyard, in the kinds of 
plows employed, and the times chosen for the work. Some plow but 
once, toward spring, whenever the ground is in suitable condition ; 
and, if there is much growth of weeds and clovers, a looped chain is 
run from the plow to the end of the evener to aid in drawing under 
the tall growth. Sometimes, however, the growth gets so rank be- 
fore the soil is in condition to plow that the weeds must be mown be- 
fore plowing. Where but one plowing is done, the soil is usually 
thrown away from the trees and afterwards is leveled back by har- 
rowing or cultivating. If this practice is adopted, care should be 
taken that the soil is properly returned about the tree roots, for 
injury is sometimes done by bringing the roots too near the surface, 
which is soon afterwards intensely heated by the sunshine. 



134 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The use of tractors, which has recently become very common, has 
greatly facilitated orchard and vineyard plowing and these motors 
are of incalculable advantage in promoting thorough tillage of fruit 
lands. 

It is undoubtedly better practice to plow earlier, when the green 
stuff gets a good start, but is still not too high to turn under handily. 
In this practice the weed stems are less woody, and they easily decay 
and act as a fertilizer. Where early plowing is practised, it is usual 
to plow again when the second growth of weeds reaches the proper 
state in the spring. When two plowings are given, the earth is 
usually thrown away from the trees in the first plowing, and re- 
turned toward the trees in the second plowing. But this order is 
sometimes reversed in situations where rainfall is heavy and the soil 
retentive, so that the dead furrow between the rows may act as a 
surface drain to carry off surplus water, which is thiis prevented 
from standing around the tree roots. Dead furrows and hollow 
middles may be avoided by plowing around a row until within two 
or three feet of the next row on each side. Then plow two or three 
furrows around those rows and go to the next one for another big 
land. This leaves dead furrows close to alternate rows. Cross 
harrowing levels the dirt in the rows by dragging it into the dead 
furrows. Next year these rows get the big lands. In all modes of 
plowing it is desirable that before the summer heat comes, the sur- 
face be leveled as completely as possible. 

Too much stress can not be laid upon the importance of plowing 
when the soil is in good condition and not otherwise. To disregard 
this is bad enough in all soils, but it is a grevious mistake to work 
any of the clayey soils when they are out of condition. If too wet, 
they are puddled by the plow and dry down in hard clods, impene- 
trable by air, and even resist water itself for a long time. When 
clods are thus formed, it may require long effort to bring the soil 
back to a good friable condition. The cultivation of adobe is one of 
the problems of California agriculture. The more refractory it is, 
the more particular care is needed to take it when it is in proper 
condition to work. To work it when perfectly dry is simply im- 
possible, and if it is plowed when too wet and sticky, it becomes 
hard, lumpy, and altogether unmanageable. The condition which 
favors best results by tillage must be learned by experience. 

Another mistake apt to be made when the orchard or vineyard 
is but one of the branches of a mixed farm, is to put aside the plow- 
ing until all the field work is done, and in some seasons the soil in 
the orchard has become so dry that it turns up in large clods which 
are afterwards partially reduced by the harrow, but never put in 
the fine tilth which should be secured for the retention of moisture 
and otherwise to encourage the growth and productiveness of the 
tree. 

Breaking up Hardpan. — Those who advocate the use of the plow, 
claim several advantages for it. The chief is that more thorough 
tilth can be secured. In most, but not all soils, there is formed by 
cultivation an artificial hardpan at whatever depth the implement 



PLOWING ORCHARD AND VINEYARD I35 

attains, if this depth can be kept the same for many successive culti- 
vations. This hardpan, in some soils at least, becomes impervious 
to water and is otherwise an injury to the growth of the trees. It 
occurs in irrigated and unirrigated land alike, but is more quickly 
formed by irrigation. When continuous summer cultivation is prac- 
tised, the hardpan will be found at whatever depth the teeth uni- 
formly reach. The remedy is to plow in winter just below this hard- 
pan layer and thus break it up, and then by the action of the air and 
rains it is reduced, and cultivation may proceed as before. Where 
the hardpan is formed by the plow, the ground should be plowed 
shallow one year and deeply the next, thus alternating from year to 
year. 

Where compact layers are found below the reach of ordinary 
plows a subsoil plow is used, and in some cases excellent results have 
followed the use of powder — with the charge fitted to shatter the 
soil without disturbing the trees. 

Green Manuring. — Another advantage in the use of the plow and 
the disk is, as has already been mentioned, the turning under of the 
growth of weeds, grass, and clover as a green manure. In recent 
years growers have learned the great importance of this, and those 
who had orchards in which winter growth had been killed out by 
long cultivation, are now growing a quickly-growing crop which 
they can sow with the first rains and secure enough to turn under 
with the winter plowing. This consideration will be further pre- 
sented in the chapter on fertilization. 

Plowing Hillside to Prevent Washing. — Where the slope of the 
land is sharp, there is much danger from washing during the rainy 
season, if the hillside is not terraced or furnished with ditches care- 
fully laid out on contour lines to carry the water down on a gentle 
grade. The old plan of plowing furrows one above another around 
the hill to check the flow and let the water down easily, is often 
found treacherous unless one is able to strike good grades, because 
of the liability to collection of water at certain points and the subse- 
quent breaking away and washing. Recently some of the foothill 
growers have adopted the plan of plowing furrows seven or eight 
feet apart straight down the hill in the direction of its steepest 
descent. The rainfall is thus distributed over the ground so that not 
much water is collected at any one place and the harm done by wash- 
ing will not amount to much. Hillside work differs according to 
character of soil and of local rainfall and conference with experi- 
enced men in the region will usually afford the beginner the best 
suggestions of method. In some localities, the plowing of a few 
furrows at intervals to assist in penetration and the growth of a 
cover crop during the winter to assist in binding the soil, will be 
found better than any attempt at the early plowing, which may work 
admirably on level lands. 

The Best Plow. — For plowing orchards and vineyards many 
kinds of plows are used, including the ordinary one- and two-horse 
walking plows, single and double sulky or riding plows, and gang 
plows of different kinds — largely operated by special forms of 



136 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

orchard tractors. Recently disk plows and harrows have become 
very popular. In several of the leading fruit districts there are 
plows made in the local shops which are patterned to meet the differ- 
ent soils prevailing. Which is the best plow is a question which can 
not be answered ; it must be determined by local conditions, and the 
best way to get information is to consult the experienced cultivators 
of the locality and to watch the effects of one's own operations. 

Avoiding Injury to Trees and Vines. — The great problem is to 
use the plow so as not to injure the trees and vines. Injury to the 
roots is one ground on which those who advocated the banishment 
of the plow from the orchard and vineyard based their opposition, 
as will appear more fully presently. It is the usual practice to run 
the plow shallower when approaching the stem of the tree or vine, 
and this is easily done when using a riding plow or a two-horse walk- 
ing plow or a tractor outfit between the rows and finishing up near 
the trees with a single-horse walking plow. The injury to the bark 
of the tree or to the vine stump and to the roots is thus minimized. 

Makers of the special orchard and vineyard plows have recently 
made them adjustable so that the plow will work either side of the 
central line of draft, and these improved tools have rendered obsolete 
the early contrivances for accomplishing the result with common 
field plows. 

Extension of disks and of spring-tooth harrows are often made 
by attaching the parts to the ends of a central piece in such a way 
that the horses walk in the centers and the cultivators work under 
the low branches and very near to the stems of the trees. These are 
chiefly used with citrus trees whose foliage and fruits are permitted 
to grow very near to the soil surface. 

All modern implements offered for work in the orchard or vine- 
yard have adjustments to enable careful cultivators to avoid injuries 
to the bark of trees or vines, and home-made devices for protection 
are no longer required — still intelligence in workmen is indispens- 
able. 

SUMMER TREATMENT OF ORCHARD AND 
VINEYARD 

Where the orchard or vineyard is plowed twice during the win- 
ter, the land should remain after the first plowing as the plow leaves 
it. The moistening and aeration during the winter have good effect 
upon the soil both chemically and mechanically. 

If but one plowing is done, when the chief rains are supposed to 
be over, there must be full effort put forth to reduce the soil to good 
tilth and to level the surface as much as possible. This is done by 
harrowing with one of the several improved harrows which are now 
generally available and found very effective. They act in cultivat- 
ing, clod crushing, and leveling, in a most satisfactory manner. They 
are too well known to need description. Each has its advocates and 
its adaptations to certain soils. As with plows, so with harrows and 
cultivators, the best for one soil may not be the best for another, and 
local inquiry among experienced fruit growers will be the best guide 



CULTIVATORS AS SUBSTITUTE FOR PLOWS 



137 



for the new-comer. In addition to the excellent implements brought 
from the Eastern States, there are others of California invention and 
manufacture which have very marked local adaptations, and almost 
every fruit region in California has some embodiment of local in- 
ventive genius in the form of implements of tillage. 

The secret of success in handling the heavier soils in spring work- 
ing is to secure as perfect surface pulverization as possible without 
compacting the soil. Light soils need a certain amount of firming 
after plowing, or else there is too free access of air and too great 
drying out. For these and other reasons, the grower has to study 
his soil and learn from observation the methods which succeed best 
with it. The practice which gave success under certain conditions 
might not be well adapted under other conditions. The use of the 
roller is a striking example of this fact. In some orchards the roller 
is a benefit, in others a decided injury. Its chief effect is compacting 
the surface layer, which is only desirable on very coarse open soils. 
The long-tooth harrow accomplishes a very marked compacting of 
the soil to the depth it reaches, and often settles the lower layer too 
closely and causes it to run together too solidly if rain follows. The 
modern cultivators, clod-crushers, disk-harrows, etc., are superior in 
eflfect, each in the soil to which its action is most desirable. 

After working down the soil after plowing, the cultivator is relied 
upon to kill the weeds, break up the crust which may form after 
spring rains or after irrigation, and to prevent the compacting of 
the surface layer of the soil from any cause. 

CULTIVATION WITHOUT PLOWING 

There are some orchards in California which have not been 
plowed for years — in some cases the plow has not been used since 
the trees were planted. Instances of this kind are to be found both 
in irrigated and unirrigated land. It depends largely upon the me- 
chanical condition and disposition of the soil whether the practice 
will give satisfactory results. It can not be trusted on land prone to 
develop hardpan, as has already been considered, and yet the term 
"cultivation" has taken such a wide range in this State, and the 
tools have reached such efficiency, that there is not as much differ- 
ence as formerly between the plow and the cultivator, except that 
the former turns the soil and the latter stirs without turning. For 
some who oppose the use of the plow, use a chisel-tooth cultivator, 
cutting to a depth of eight inches in the spring, but at other times of 
the year they are not more than half as deep. This treatment would 
tend to dispose of hardpan. However this may be, and whatever the 
special nature of their soils, there are fruit growers, both in northern 
and southern California, who have for years trusted almost wholly 
to the cultivator, cutting to a depth of 3 or 4 inches, and keeping 
their orchards throughout the year almost in the same state of tilth, 
never allowing a weed to grow. This practice is, however, becoming 
less prevalent, and for certain soils the question is practically settled 
in the minds of nearly all orchardists, while for other soils there is 
still doubt. For the heavier soils, which continuous shallow cultiva- 



238 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

tion is apt to render too compact, it is necessary to have recourse to 
the plow to open the land for proper aeration and penetration of 
moisture which otherwise would be largely lost by surface run-off. 
The lighter soils do not require this and they seem to do well with 
continuous use of the cultivator. It is beginning to be clearly seen, 
however, that this treatment tends toward the decrease of the or- 
ganic matter and the consequent impoverishment of the soil. Its 
water-holding capacity is also lessened. These facts have induced 
some growers to change their practice and to take up the plow dur- 
ing late winter or early spring, to turn under a winter growth of a 
legume sown for the purpose or to cover in the growth of green stuff 
which they allow to grow instead of frequently destroying it with the 
winter use of the cultivator. Either the fall and spring plowing, or 
both, followed by the summer use of the cultivator, is the most ra- 
tional and satisfactory practice for most of our deciduous orchards, 
though there are local conditions and circumstances under which 
different procedure is preferable. 



SUMMER CULTIVATION 

Whatever the winter policy may be, the essential point in sum- 
mer cultivation is to preserve the surface layer of pulverized earth. 
It will not do to have a few inches of clods, from the size of a pea to 
that of a goose egg, resting on a hard surface. The finer the pulver- 
ization the shallower can be the surface layer, and vice versa, and 
this is probably one reason why in practice the work of the plow is, 
in so many situations, found the best foundation upon which to rest 
the year's cultivation. 

In order to secure this finely-pulverized layer, it is sometimes 
necessary to use what is called a "rubber," where there are many 
clods which are merely displaced by the harrow or cultivator. There 
are different styles, and they are generally home-made. The most 
common form is made of two-inch plank in lengths of three or four 
feet, bolted or spiked to pieces of four-by-four-inch scantling running 
crosswise, the edges of the planks lapped like the clapboards which 
are used for weather boarding. As these edges are drawn over the 
surface, the clods are rubbed into tilth if they are not too hard and 
dry. 

But this rubbing may be very undesirable if it leaves the surface 
smooth and polished. It may reflect the sunheat even to tree- 
burning, and is apt to form an evaporating surface, which is almost 
to be avoided. The best finish for the land is that produced by a 
light, fine-toothed harrow, and an attachment of this kind is provided 
with various clod crushers and cultivators. The result is a surface 
of loose earth, flat and fine, which approaches very closely an ideal 
condition. 

There is less difference than formerly in the use of the harrow 
or cultivator during the summer. Still some are content to use the 
cultivator only as a weed-killer, and after the weeds cease to grow 
and the spring showers are over, the cultivator is laid aside and the 



DIFFERENT KINDS OF CULTIVATION 139 

land left unstirred until the following winter. This, of course, refers 
to unirrigated ground, for wherever irrigation is practised a culti- 
vator must follow, except on hillsides where the surface is left undis- 
turbed after the irrigation furrows are made for the season. It is 
a fact, however, that even if no rain falls, the soil becomes compacted 
to a certain degree, and the best way to imprison the greatest pos- 
sible amount of moisture below is to run the cultivator at intervals 
all through the dry season. It should run shallow and only stir the 
surface layer. The experience of the most successful growers is that 
frequent stirring without, however, bringing new soil to the air, is 
the best-paying practice. 

WHAT IS THOROUGH CULTIVATION 

As clean, thorough cultivation has been approved, it may be 
desirable to attempt to define the term. It can, however, only be 
approximately done, because of the great difference in individual 
views and practices. Some indication of the operations which are 
contemplated may be had in the following specifications upon which 
contracts have been let for care of orchard : First, plowing away 
from the trees, followed by harrowing ; second, plowing toward the 
trees, followed by harrowing ; ten summer workings with cultivator ; 
three working with shallow cultivator or weed-cutter; five hand 
hoeings around the trees. The contract intends the most complete 
and perfect working of the soil and specifies the above merely that 
there may be no difference of opinion between owner and contractor. 

With the best team and implement work which can be done there 
always remain the need of quick hand work in hoeing around the 
trees. As an offset to the cost is the additional moisture-conserva- 
tion, for hard ground around a tree sucks out and evaporates much 
moisture and draws it sidewise from far beyond its own area. Hard 
soil in contact with the bole of a tree is apt to pinch the bark, pre- 
vent expansion and perhaps cause gumming. It is also a safe refuge 
for many kinds of pests which a good stirring may destroy. 



CULTIVATION FOR WEED KILLING 

Cultivation for weed killing is a minor consideration in Cali- 
fornia, because cultivation for moisture conservation effectually dis- 
poses of most of them, and weeds do not start readily in the earth- 
mulch during the dry season. There are, however, a few most per- 
sistent pests which require heroic measures. Johnson grass and 
morning-glory are the most prominent of these.* The only suc- 
cessful treatment consists in cutting constantly with a weed-cutter 
(a sharp horizontal knife), operated so as to pass under the whole 
surface and run so often that the plant is never allowed to show a 
shoot on the surface. It is of no use merely to cultivate or "weed- 
cut" as for other weeds. This spreads the pest more and more ; but 

'Special publications on redviction of morning-glory and other running weeds and 
grasses, can be had by application to the College of Agriculture, Berkeley. 



J40 CALIFORNIA FRUITS; HOW TO GROW THEM 

if the rising shoots are continually cut under the surface, and never 
allowed to get the light, it will kill the plant surely, but it may take 
two seasons to do it. Weed-cutting knives of this description are 
often contrived by local smiths and are attached to sleds or fitted 
with plow handles, or used with a pair of thills and cultivator handles 
or other rigging as the operator may choose. The vital point is a 
blade of sheet steel, very sharp and rigged to run just under the sur- 
face. These home-made devices are, however, largely displaced by 
implements of various sizes (for team or tractor), with flat, short 
teeth. They must be used as often as once each week during the 
growing season of the plant to be destroyed. 

MULCHING A SUBSTITUTE FOR CULTIVATION 

The use of a mulch or covering of the ground with a litter of light 
materials to prevent evaporation, is practised to a small extent in 
this State. Though mainly used for berries of different kinds, re- 
course has also been had to mulching by vineyardists. The materials 
used are various, such as partly-rotted straw, coarse manure, dam- 
aged hay, corn-husks, corn-stalks, vine prunings and leaves, and 
even fine brush from adjacent thickets. The practice has been found 
of greatest value on hillsides where cultivation is difficult, and dan- 
ger of washing of loose soil is great. There arecaseswhere vines have 
been grown several years in this way to the satisfaction of the 
owner. The danger of fire in our dry climate when the surface is 
covered to a depth of several inches with a dry mulch is considerable. 
As a rule, the mulch employed by the California grower is a per- 
fect pulverization of the surface soil. 



CHAPTER XIV 

FERTILIZERS FOR TREES AND VINES 

It was a popular doctrine among early Californians that Cali- 
fornia soils would never need fertilization, and that there is some- 
thing- in our soil and climate which would release us forever from 
repaying anything to the ground for the wealth of produce which 
we take from it. Such a view was, of course, without foundation, 
and yet it is not difficult to see how it arose. Early attempts to 
enrich the soil by the turning under of coarse stable manure, as is 
done in other countries, was undertaken here on light soil in a region 
rather short of rainfall. The manure did not decompose, and its 
coarse materials made a soil, already too light to retain moisture 
well, so open and porous that its moisture was quickly carried away 
by evaporation, and crops did not grow so well as upon adjacent 
land which had not been manured. So the fiat went forth against 
manure. The corrals became undisturbed guano deposits, and ma- 
nure piles were fired in dry weather to get the "soil poison" out of 
the way. Innumerable tons of bones were gathered and ground in 
San Francisco and shipped away to countries which need fertilizers ! 
Nature did much to foster the popular delusion, for field crops were 
gloriously large, and trees and vines grew rampantly and bore fruit 
the weight of which they were unable to sustain. How could there 
be more conclusive evidence that manure was a detriment to Cali- 
fornia soils? 

A few decades of experience have swept away such fallacies and 
now California growers, especially those handling citrus fruits, are 
not only freely investing in commercial fertilizers, but are buying 
and shipping considerable distances all available animal manures, 
having cleaned up all available accumulations during the pioneer 
period of non-fertilization. They are also untiring students of the 
art of fertilization and the sciences underlying it. It was in re- 
sponse to that demand that the California Legislature in 1903 passed 
a fertilizer control law. All dealers are required to register and 
submit samples of their brands and there is constant inspection to 
detect departures. Semi-annual reports are published for public in- 
formation and these, with special instructions for taking samples 
when purchasers desire analyses on their own account, can be had 
by application to the State Department of Agriculture at Sacra- 
mento. The total amount of sales reported under the law for the 
year ending June 30, 1920, was 58,636 tons. 

During the last few years the University Experiment Station 
chemists and bacteriologists have continued studies of California 
soils and their relation to fertilization and have conducted prolonged 
experimentation toward the establishment of fundamental facts and 
the interpretation of their practical significance. In the course of 
this work they have made notable contributions to the science of 



142 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

soils and plants which may be described as revolutionary in their 
relation to older tenets and points of view. There is good reason to 
believe that the progressive effort which is now being made for fuller 
understanding of facts and reasonableness of practice will reconcile 
the conflicts which have so long prevailed both in scientific doctrine 
and in horticultural experience and point the way to more efficient 
and profitable recourses in soil restoration and plant feeding. For 
the purpose of presenting to fruit growers in popular language con- 
crete conclusions involving the latest results of thought and research 
on these subjects Dr. C. B. Lipman, Professor of Soil Chemistry and 
Bacteriology in the University of California, who is a leader in both 
philosophy and research, has kindly written for this work all which 
follows in this chapter and merits the gratitude of the reader for this 
generous service. 

OLD AND NEW VIEWS OF FERTILIZATION 

The popular conception of a fertilizer, held both by the manu- 
facturer and consumer, and by many experts, is that it is a substance 
which contains some chemical element or elements essential to plant 
growth, and which by application to the soil takes the place of 
similar material extracted from the soil solution* by plant roots or 
lost in the leaching of soil by rain or irrigation water. By this 
conception, fertilization constitutes a method for the so-called main- 
tenance of a somewhat mysterious something spoken of as "soil 
fertility." Like most popular conceptions, the foregoing contains 
a germ of truth, but when taken Hterally, it is more mischivous than 
useful and is responsible for much erroneous and unprofitable farm 
practice, and an endless amount of loose and fallacious thinking, and 
expensive and wasteful experimentation. If the purpose of fertil- 
izers were merely to make good the losses of certain chemical con- 
stituents in the soil moisture occasioned as above explained, the 
problem would be indeed a simple one of maintaining the crop- 
producing power of any soil at a high level ; and the very simplicity 
of the idea is probably what constitutes its attractiveness, and 
accounts for the tenactiy with which it is held. Unfortunately 
for the man on the land, however, the matter is not simple, and 
recent investigations have shown conclusively that while the task 
just mentioned may be one of those performed by fertilizers, it 
is probably only a minor one in most cases where fertilizers are 
used, and in many cases where they are of distinct benefit to plant 
growth, they may not function in that way at all. Thus, this very 
attractive popular theory of the function and purpose of a fertilizer 
must be largely discarded. We are not dealing with a simple mat- 
ter of subtraction and addition of certain chemical elements to soils, 
but with a very compHcated series of phenomena in the soil and in 
the plant, which, despite the rapid progress of our knowledge during 
the last five years, are far from being understood. This is not the 
place to discuss these important considerations which will form the 

*The soil solution is the medium in which plant roots and soil bacteria grow and, so far 
as we know, now consists of most of the soil moisture, which makes a solution of soil salts 
(nutrient and non-nutrient), and is distributed around and between the soil particles. 



SUBSTANCES REQUIRED BY PLANTS 143 

subjects of future treatises on the interrelationships between soils 
and plants. Nevertheless, we may, with profit, consider briefly a 
few essentials to a more rational conception of the fertilizer and 
fertilization problem than the simple and attractive, but wholly in- 
adequate, one mentioned above. 

THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS ESSENTIAL TO PLANT 

GROWTH 

Careful investigation has shown that there are at least ten of the 
eighty-odd chemical elements known, without any one of which 
green plants cannot live. These elements are carbon, hydrogen, 
oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sul- 
phur, and iron. The first three of these are supplied from the 
carbonic acid gas of the air (carbon and oxygen) and from the water 
in the soil (hydrogen). The air is never short of all the carbonic 
acid gas which may be needed by plants. A proper supply of water 
to soils can be readily insured in most cases. The problem of the 
supply of the essential elements for plant growth in soils, therefore, 
is limited to the other seven elements named above. Nitrogen is 
supplied very largely from the soil's organic matter supply and is 
transformed from the organic, insoluble, and complicated form 
therein, to a simple soluble, inorganic form (principally nitrates), 
by the action of certain micro-organisms (bacteria and fungi) which 
live in the soil. The other six elements are to some degree also 
furnished by the decomposition resulting in simplification and 
mineralization of the soil organic matter, but are chiefly derived 
from the mineral particles of the soil which take their origin in turn 
from the rocks and minerals originally disintegrated by weathering 
agencies to form the more or less powdery mass making up a primi- 
tive soil. Even the small amounts of minerals contained in the de- 
caying organic matter were derived originally from the purely 
inorganic, mineral sources upon which the plants initially composing 
it obtained them. This is also true of nitrogen. In fact, the original 
rock from which the first soils were formed probably contained no 
organic matter, and hence the primitive plants which first made their 
appearance on the rock surfaces of the earth from some unknown 
source must have subsisted, as do our green plants today, on the 
mineral elements from which they synthesized organic compounds 
and, on their death, left organic residues from which more resistant 
portions have accumulated such organic matter supplies as we find 
in our soils today. 

Now, while all of the ten chemical elements named above are 
indispensable to the life and normal growth of our green plants, 
every one of them is not needed in the same quantity as every other 
one for the constitution of plant tissue. Very nearly the entire 
weight of a plant consists of three elements, viz., carbon, hydrogen, 
and oxygen, derived as above explained, from an ever abundant 
supply of carbonic acid gas and water. For example 97.4% of the 
corn kernel consists of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and in timothy 
hay the same three elements make nearly 95% of the total substance. 



Potash 


Lime 


Phosphoric 


Nitrogen 


Pounds 


Pounds 


Acid lbs. 


Pounds 


9.95 


1.04 


2.04 


7.01 


3.01 


.16 


.66 


1.94 


1.40 


.11 


.33 


1.05 


6.80 


.10 


.17 


.97 


2.77 


.20 


.72 


2.29 


3.67 


1.20 


1.58 


6.40 


4.69 


.85 


.86 


2.38 


2.55 


.25 


.11 


1.26 


2.54 


1.55 


.58 


1.51 


9.11 


2.43 


1.25 


5.60 


2.11 


.97 


.53 


1.83 


3.94* 


.14* 


.85* 


1.20* 


1.34 


.19 


.34 


.90 


3.10 


.22 


.68 


1.82 


3.41* 


.25* 


.75* 


1.81 


8.18 


1.55 


1.47 


5.41 



144 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Only a very small proportion of the weight of plant substance, there- 
fore, consists of the other seven essential elements. The amounts 
of these substances contained in some of our fruits is shown approxi- 
mately in the following table, taken from analyses made by Pro- 
fessor G. E. Colby, formerly of the California Agricultural Ex- 
periment Station : 

Quantities of Soil Ingredients Withdrawn by Various Fruits 

Fresh Fruit Total 

1000 pounds Ash lbs. 

Almondsf 17.29 

Apricots 5.08 

Apples 2.64 

Bananas 10.78 

Cherries 4.82 

Chestnutst 9.52 

Figs 7.81 

Grapes 5.00 

Lemons 5.26 

Olives 13.50 

Oranges 4.32 

Peaches 5.30 

Pears 2.50 

Prunes, French 4.86 

Plums 5.35 

Walnutst 12.98 

tincluding hulls. ^Estimated. 

Why Such Analyses May Not Be a True Guide in Fertilization. — 

A little calculation on the basis of the data in the foregoing table 
will make it quite clear that a ten-ton crop of fresh grapes would 
only remove from the soil about 51 pounds of potash, 5 pounds of 
lime, 2.2 pounds of phosphoric acid and 25.2 pounds of nitrogen. 
A very large crop of fresh apricots (about ten tons) would remove 
from the soil about 60 pounds of potash, 3.20 pounds of lime, 13.20 
pounds of phosphoric acid and 38.80 pounds of nitrogen. Now even 
a very poor soil contains in the upper three feet per acre, which are 
only a portion of the plant roots' foraging area, about 12,000 pounds 
each of potash and lime, about 6,000 pounds of phosphoric acid and 
about 3,000 pounds of nitrogen. Moreover, some of the portions of 
the fruit are frequently returned to the soil, and irrigation waters, 
where such are used, most commonly carry in solution large enough 
quantities of the essential elements to more than make up for the 
losses sustained through the removal of the fruit crop. This kind 
of reasoning, coupled with the fact that even moderately good soils 
may contain ten times as much potash and lime, twice as much 
phosphoric acid, and three times as much nitrogen as the poor soil 
cited, and also the fact that much more than three feet of soil in 
depth are frequently available for root development, make it very 
clear that the essential elements are found in nearly all soils in 
quantities sufficient to last for centuries. Of course, these are 
definite quantities and if we consider our obligations to posterity 
we should contemplate ways and means for preventing unusual and 



WHAT ARE PLANT FOODS? 145 

unnecessary losses of the essential elements from our soils, but there 
must be some other reason or reasons than that for the good effects 
obtained by fertilizer applications to fruit crops, especially on new 
or very young lands. The most readily advanced reason, of course, 
is that while the soil minerals contain the essential elements in 
plenty, they are not "available." Let us now study the meaning of 
this term "available" and see if the consideration of "availability" 
is adequate to the explanation of the condition in question. 

"PLANT FOODS" AND "AVAILABLE PLANT FOODS" 

The term plant food is a misnomer. It is intended to apply to 
the essential chemical elements above mentioned, which enter into 
the composition of plant food, and which is a term that should apply 
only to the starches, sugars, proteins, and fats which really serve 
to sustain the plant and which are products of the plant's own 
activity. The term is, therefore, used incorrectly by most people 
and should be supplanted by the term "essential elements" to plant 
growth. 

With this idea clearly in mind, we may next inquire what is 
meant by the expression "available plant food." Here again the 
term plant food is used erroneously, as already explained. But the 
term "available," as commonly used, is intended to mean that the 
substance to which it is applied is soluble in the water of the soil 
when introduced there. Recent studies in the chemistry of the soil 
have revealed the fact, however, that availability of a chemical 
element or compound from the standpoint of the plant, as well as 
that of the soil, is not merely the simple question of the solubility 
of that substance in the soil water, but of something more. A sub- 
stance, to be available to the plant's roots, must not only be soluble 
in the soil water, but it must be so balanced with the other con- 
stituents of the soil water (soil solution) as to be assimilable, which 
is by no means always true under soil conditions. Moreover, a 
substance to be "available" in the broadest sense must not only 
possess the two attributes just discussed, but, in addition, should 
not be poisonous at the concentration at which it is found in the 
soil solution. 

It follows from what has just been said that a fertilizer salt or 
other substance does not necessarily become usable and available 
to the plant merely because it dissolves in the soil water. It may 
indeed dissolve in the soil water when first applied to the soil, but 
soon thereafter become insoluble by reacting with some soil mineral 
and from such reaction a new soluble substance may be formed and 
a new insoluble substance, which latter contains in it the essential 
element which it is desired to make available. This leads us to 
conclude that the application to a soil of a soluble fertilizer salt like 
nitrate of soda or sulphate of potash does not by any means insure 
the increased supply thereof by that amount in the soil solution. 
On the contrary, it may mean no increase of that substance at all 
in the soil solution available to the plant's roots. This important 
fact has been brought out by an investigation recently conducted in 



J46 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

the writer's laboratory, which proved that lime and gypsum have 
very different effects on different soils, depending on the kinds of 
minerals and other substances which are contained in the soil origi- 
nally. The addition of calcium in the form of lime increased the 
amount of calcium in some soils, but not in others. This disposes 
of the belief so tenaciously held by nearly all, soil and fertilizer 
experts included, that the chief and only function of a fertilizer 
consists in its furnishing a certain one or more plant food elements 
which it contains to the soil solution. We can never really be certain 
when we apply any fertilizer element to a soil that we enrich the 
solution of that soil with respect to that element. That may occur 
in many soils, but may not occur in many others. On the other hand, 
it is likewise true that when a fertilizer element applied to a soil does 
not enrich the soil solution with respect to itself, it may do so with 
respect to another element theretofore insoluble. For example, we 
may apply sulphate of potash to a soil without enriching the soil 
solution there with respect to potash, but we may enrich it with 
respect to calcium, magnesium, sodium or some other element which 
may or may not be needed by the plant. While all this is true, how- 
ever, the reader will doubtless readily grasp the significance of the 
general situation, which may briefly be put in another way for 
emphasis. If fertilizers carrying essential elements to plant growth 
when applied to soils do not necessarily furnish those essential ele- 
ments to the soil solution and still benefit the crop, the improvement 
may be due to the increased supply, through the agency of the fertil- 
izer, of some other element not necessarily essential, or an essential 
element heretofore regarded as of minor importance which stimu- 
lates the plant, not because it furnishes a lacking element, but be- 
cause it causes increased cell growth in some other manner not now 
understood by us. This may mean that we shall be able to use many 
cheap salts or minerals for fertilizers to set free the essential ele- 
ments already contained in the soil minerals or to stimulate plant 
growth otherwise. Certainly, it may mean that in many soils we 
shall be able to obtain an ample supply of soluble potassium in the 
soil by applying, not potash fertilizers, but some substance which 
does not contain potash, but which will set it free from its combina- 
tions in the insoluble soil minerals. The reader will readily see that 
this situation may effect profoundly the economics of the fertilizer 
situation. The question that naturally arises next is how to de- 
termine in practice the proper procedure in soil treatment by fertil- 
izers. This will be taken up in detail in a special section below, after 
a few other essential matters have been discussed. 

THE "SPECIFIC" EFFECTS OF THE ESSENTIAL 
ELEMENTS ON PLANTS 

The text books on soils and those on plant physiology teach, so 
far as I know, with a rare exception or two, that the so-called plant 
food elements of fertilizers — nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium — 
are not merely essential to plant growth but that each produces a 
specific effect on the plant which is outwardly visible. For example. 



WHAT FERTILIZERS DO FOR PLANTS 147 

nitrogen is supposed to stimlate leaf and stalk development ; phos- 
phorus is presumed to increase seed production and to hasten 
maturity, and potassium is presumed to have a vital connection with 
early maturation of a crop, and with sweetness and quality in fruit. 
Many other such statements have been made in the literature with 
respect to the specific effects of these three chemical elements in 
plant growth. Moreover, some authors have gone so far as to say 
that certain colors, textures, or other characteristics of plants in 
g(rowth indicate a lack of sufficiency of a given one of the three 
elements in question. 

There is little or no basis for all such statements and assump- 
tions, because it is a fact that color of foliage may in most cases be a 
guide to the determination of whether or not an ample or a deficient 
supply of available nitrogen is present in the soil or other growing 
medium. Thus, a deep green foilage is usually an indication of a 
plentiful supply of available nitrogen. Yellow, or light green foliage 
is frequently an evidence of a defficiency of available nitrogen. But 
even those indications are not always correct and particularly is this 
true of the yellow color of leaves. Likewise, an excess of nitrogen 
does seem to encourage rank stalk and leaf development, resulting 
with the cereals even in "lodging," but this too might be taken as 
evidence of a badly unbalanced condition of the nutrient medium of 
growth (the soil solution) rather than a specific effect of nitrogen. 
It is, nevertheless, true that the encouragement of heavy stalk and 
leaf production by nitrogen is very marked with some plants and 
comes nearest being a manifestation of a specific growth-producing 
eflfect of an element which we know about. As for the idea of the 
specific effects mentioned above as being characteristic of phos- 
phorus and potassium and others found in the literature which I 
have not mentioned, there is aboslutely no unexceptionable evidence 
to support it. We have no data upon which to base the common 
belief that phosphorus hastens maturity of plants; or that a lack 
thereof manifests itself in some abnormal appearance of the plant 
which has been definitely recognized and correlated with it. The 
same statements will apply to the potassium question, and we thus 
find no justification for the idea that there has been estabhshed a 
certain well-defined correlation between the appearances, colors, or 
other qualities of plants and a deficiency of any one of the essential 
elements to plant growth, unless, possibly, it be nitrogen. This does 
not mean, however, that each of the mineral elements does not per- 
form a specific function in the metabolism of the plant, for there is 
some good evidence that it may. It does not even mean that every 
one of the elements may not specifically afifect the plant by its 
sufficiency or by its inadequacy in such a manner as to be indicated 
characteristically in the appearance or quality of the plant which 
human senses can discern. It does mean that if such specific effect 
or effects for any of the mineral elements except nitrogen exist, we 
know nothing about them to date. 

The denials of the common beliefs and of the current teachings 
in our text-books, which are made above, are not intended, however, 
as disclaimers of the existence of other visible effects on plants which 



J 48 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

a deficiency of a given mineral element may induce. For example, 
it is pretty well established now that it is necessary not only to have 
the nutrient solution of a plant of a certain concentration but also 
that there be a proper balance among the various constituents there- 
of. It is clear, therefore, that a plant may show an unthrifty con- 
dition, due to too low a concentration of its nutrient medium or to 
an improper balance of the different elements, without giving us 
leave to correlate the unthrifty condition with a specific effect of a 
given element. To put it another way, for emphasis, we may assume 
that a plant will show a stunted condition or an abnormal color 
which will be removed and the plant brought to a normal condition 
by the application, let us say, of phosphorus or of potassium. This 
does not argue that a deficiency of the element applied specifically 
and characteristically causes the abnormal condition in question, but 
may merely mean that a deficiency of any element by bringing about 
an unbalanced condition in the nutrient solution may induce ab- 
normal growth and development. 

This statement is intended not merely to deny and disprove the 
statements on the subject which appear in text-books but also those 
pernicious assumptions to the same effect which constantly appear 
in the literature of the fertilizer trade. It is well to understand the 
following clearly : 

(1) Certain chemical elements in the soil solution, including at 
least nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, calcium, magnesium, iron and 
potassium, are essential to normal plant growth. 

(2) These elements must be present in sufficient concentration 
and the whole nutrient solution must be sufficiently concentrated. 

(3) Those elements must, regardless of the total concentration of 
the solution, be in a proper balance among themselves. 

Beyond these conditions, we know little about the soil solution 
which is above question. This is particularly pertinent regarding 
the specific effects of the individual elements or the characteristics 
of plants which the human senses can discern. 

WHAT ARE FERTILIZERS AND WHAT THEIR SOURCES? 

The problem of fertilizers and their application to soils, as it 
stands today, is essentially a practical one. The truly scientific 
phases of it which are being studied have not yet progressed far 
enough to allow of much application of their results. Of necessity, 
therefore, most rules and standards in fertilizer practice and in the 
fertilizer industry must be more or less arbitrary. This includes, 
of course, the determination of what constitutes a fertilizer material. 
Nevertheless, it remains true beyond a peradventure that the final 
decision in such matters must remain with the scientific investigator 
of soil-and-plant problems. The reason for this is that he has delved 
so deeply into the subject as to be cognizant of the numerous diffi- 
culties and pitfalls which inhere in it, and thus knowing the limita- 
tions of it can prescribe with much greater precision and justice 
what should be adopted as a guide or guides. In accordance with 



MATERIALS FOR FERTILIZERS 149 

this conclusion and without bias or prejudice, let it be attempted 
to draw up a statement as to what constitutes a fertilizer and what 
materials may be included under that head. 

A fertilizer is any substance, subject to the qualifications given 
below, which furnishes to the soil any one or more of the following 
chemical elements — nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, and 
calcium ; or which furnishes organic matter. The substances con- 
taining the chemical elements named must, in addition, possess the 
following qualifications : 

1. They must contain, if they are largely insoluble in water, no 
less than the following percentages of their respective elements or 
compounds : 3.0 per cent nitrogen, 20 per cent phosphoric acid, 20 
per cent potassium oxide, 20 per cent sulphur, and 35 per cent 
calcium oxide. 

2. They must contain, if they are largely soluble in water, no 
less than 1 per cent nitrogen (as nitrate or ammonia) and 1 per cent 
each of phosphoric acid and potassium oxide. Sulphur and calcium 
materials do not in the present state of our knowledge need to be 
delimited in accordance with solubility. 

3. In either insoluble or soluble form a material to be a fertilizer 
must not be toxic to plants even when applied in large quantities, 
such as 1000 pounds per acre for the soluble and ten tons per acre 
for the insoluble. This does not include sulphur, which should pref- 
erably not be applied even in the form of flowers of sulphur at rates 
exceeding 100 pounds per acre. 

4. A material to be a fertilizer must, in addition to the foregoing 
qualities, possess a more or less fine or powdery consistency so as to 
allow of facile distribution in the soil ; and it must be of a nature 
to allow free handling without danger to man or animals. 

5. An organic material to be a fertilizer must either contain the 
quantities of the elements above indicated in either soluble or in- 
soluble form, or must be of a nature which is readily decomposed 
in the soil (four to eight weeks in the summer) and preferably carry- 
ing a large bacterial population. Even organic substances contain- 
ing 3 per cent of nitrogen, mostly insoluble in water, must be of a 
nature to decompose readily as above indicated if they are to be 
considered as fertilizer material. 

In accordance with these definitions, the following common sub- 
stances can properly be regarded as fertilizers or as sources of 
serviceable organic matter: 

NITROGENOUS MATERIALS 

Sodium nitrate Fish scrap Guano 

Ammonium sulphate Castor pomace Rat guano 

Ammonium nitrate Horn meal Slaughterhouse tankage 

Ammonium phosphate Acidulated leather Garbage tankage 

Calcium nitrate Linseed meal Meat meal 

Cyanamide Fish meal Hoof meal 

Cottonseed meal King crab Wood and hair waste 

Dried blood Rape meal 



150 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



PHOSPHATIC MATERIALS 



Raw ground phosphate 

rock 
Phosphatic meal 
Raw ground bone 
Bone black 

Potassium chloride 

Potassium carbonate 

Kainite 

Kieserite 

Potassium-Magnesium 

sulphate 
Kelp Char 
Wood ashes 
Manure ash 



Flowers of sulphur. 
Calcium sulphate 
Sodium sulphate 



Calcium oxide (quick 
lime) 



Gypsum 



Bone ash 
Basic slag 
Acid phosphate 
Double acid phosphate 



Steam ground bone 
Bone tankage 
Dissolved bone 
Apatite 



POTASH MATERIALS 



Cement plant potash 
Blast furnace potash 
Potassium sulphate 
Potassium nitrate 
Double manure salts 
Carnallite 
Potassium 
Magnesium carbonate 



Kelp ash 

Dried kelp 

Plant ash 

Brine residues 

Leucite or other potash 
minerals containing at 
least 20% potassium 
oxide 



SULPHUR MATERIALS 



Magnesium sulphate 
Sulphide minerals 



Any of the sulphates men- 
tioned in the other lists 



Barnyard manure 
Cow manure 
Sheep manure 
Poultry manure 



CALCIUM MATERIALS 

Calcium hydrate (water Calcium carbonate (ground 
slaked lime) limestone or air slaked 

lime) 
SOLUBLE CALCIUM MATERIALS 

Calcium nitrate Calcium cyanamide 

ORGANIC MATERIALS 

Legume straws Goat manure 

Horse manure Green plant tissue 

Hog manure Sewage sludge 



It may transpire through present and future investigations that 
the carriers of other elements than those considered may have to be 
properly included among fertilizer materials whether those elements 
be essential to plant growth or not, but thus far, there seems to be 
no warrant for going farther than as enumerated above. At the 
same time, the limitations drawn above will rule out such fake 
materials as bacterized peat, dried peat, solutions carrying fertilizer 
elements, cultures, etc. 



THE VARIABILITY OF SOILS 

Recent studies at the California Agricultural Experiment Station 
have shown that we must modify to a great extent our ideas relative 
to all matters pertaining to soils because of the high degree of 
variability of the latter. Everybody recognizes that, in a given 
field, soils may show considerable variability, which is evident to 
the eye and touch of the inexperienced. Few people appreciate to- 
day, however, that even in a soil which seems entirely uniform there 
may exist an enormous variability in the smallest distances. Such 
variability may concern the physical properties of a soil such as 
moisture-holding power, just as much as the soil's content of the 



FERTILIZATION EXPERIMENTS NECESSARY 151 

essential mineral elements discussed above. An experiment in fer- 
tilization or any other which is carried out on a few trees or vines, 
therefore, may give results which have little application to a whole 
orchard or vineyard. Much fruitless work on fertilization and soil 
management generally, as well as laboratory studies, have been 
carried out all over the world because of ignorance of this funda- 
mental fact and it behooves us to take cognizance of it in the work 
of the future. This is particularly true in its application to orchard 
and vineyard problems, because of the relatively small number of 
plants used per acre and hence because according to the laws of 
chance, we have no opportunity of averaging the effects of the soil's 
variability. 

LONG-TERM FERTILIZER EXPERIMENTS 

One would naturally expect that the results of experiments on 
the fertilization of soils which have been in progress for long periods 
uninterruptedly like the celebrated ones at Rothamsted, England, 
at Wooster and Strongsville in Ohio, and at State College in Penn- 
sylvania, can be reckoned on as reliable guides for fertilizer practice. 
Unfortunately, however, these experiments were planned, and have 
been carried on without reference to the important principles of soil 
chemistry, plant physiology, and the variability of soils which are 
discussed above. Their results may, and may not, possess, therefore, 
the requisite cogency and utility for the average orchardist and 
particularly as regards California conditions. In none of these ex- 
periments, moreover, has there been ascertained the magnitude of 
the errors attaching to the work, and hence increases in crop sup- 
posedly due to fertilization may, and may not, be significant. Then, 
too, when the errors are properly allowed for as has been done in a 
series of studies carried on at the California Agricultural Experiment 
Station and which will soon be published, the question as to whether 
or not the increases are sufficiently great to pay for the cost of fer- 
tilization and allow a good profit, still remains to be settled. This is 
all true in addition to the conclusion, which follows from the dis- 
cussion above, that any results obtained in such an experiment have 
no necessary application on any other tract of land than that on 
which the experiment is conducted. 

LEARNING TO USE FERTILIZERS 

It follows from what has been said above that the best method 
available to us now of determining the fertilizer needs of an orchard 
or a vineyard soil is to try fertilization wherever the question arises. 
It is important, moreover, that the fertilizer be tried on a large tract, 
preferably no less than three to five acres in size, and that a control 
or check lot of trees or vines of the same number as in the treated 
plot be left untreated as a means of determining the effects exerted 
by the fertilizer. It is the writer's judgment that this is the only 
rational method yet discovered of determining the fertilizer needs 
of a given orchard or vineyard. The fruit produced on the fertilized 



J 52 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

and unfertilized plots, respectively, should be carefully measured 
and the results calculated from the point of view of the cost of the 
fertilizer and its application, and the profit accruing from its use. 

Fertilizers may be broadcasted or drilled in. In any case, an 
attempt should be made to incorporate them with the soil thoroughly 
and preferably five or more inches beneath the surface. If this is not 
done, there is danger, especially where deep and constant summer 
cultivation is practised, that the fertilizer will remain in the dry 
surface soil mulch, which is not accessible to the feeding roots. If 
the fertilizer is broadcasted, it may be cultivated, plowed or disked 
in. The above precaution relative to thorough and deep incorpora- 
tion of fertilizers is particularly pertinent and important in the case 
of the insoluble fertilizers like dried blood, high-grade tankage, rock 
phosphate and similar materials. 

Choosing the Fertilizer for the Test. — Based on practical ex- 
perience and observation in the field, the writer believes that under 
most orchard and vineyard conditions in California and especially in 
the Great Valley and under the more arid conditions, nitrogenous 
fertilizers are the most likely, of all the commercial brands, to yield 
profitable responses. Among these, sulphate of ammonia is, in gen- 
eral, to be preferred to nitrate of soda, but the latter may be used 
where heavy rainfall and a tendency to soil acidity is the rule. The 
organic nitrogenous fertilizers are all suitable, and when nitrogen 
in that form can be purchased more cheaply than in either of the 
forms just mentioned, it should be so employed. 

If it is desired to test other fertilizers, then phosphatic fertilizers 
should receive second consideration, and then it is well to treat a 
plot of five acres with nitrogen alone, one of the same size with 
superphosphate alone, and one with a combination of the two, 
always having a control plot in addition, as above explained. Sim- 
ilarly, if it is desired to test potash or sulphur, these fertilizer 
materials may be used alone or together with the others in much 
the same manner as described for nitrogen and phosphorous 
fertilizers. 

The mixed commercial fertilizers are strongly advised against, 
because much more is paid for every unit of the necessary elements 
in that form than in the form of the so-called simples like those 
listed above. Besides, it will be found rare under California orchard 
and vineyard conditions that potash fertilization, in addition to 
nitrogen and phosphorus, can be made to pay, and yet the price of 
potash is very high. 

How Much Commercial Fertilizer to Apply. — In using nitro- 
genous fertilizers, a fairly safe standard for amounts, in the absence 
of more definite information than we have now, is the following, 
which is merely furnished as an example : 

Nitrate of soda 150 lbs. per acre 

Sulphate of ammonia 100 " " " 

Dried blood or high grade tankage 300 " " " 

Superphosphate 300 " " " 

Sulphate or chloride of potash 200 " " " 

Sulphur 100 " " " 



HOW TO BUY FERTILIZERS 



153 



In mixing these they should be combined in the same propor- 
tions, but home mixing, as already explained, is, above all, desirable. 

Owing to their cheapness, lime and gypsum are not ordinarily 
classed with the commercial fertilizers, but they (especially gyp- 
sum) may exert similar effects to the potash and sulphur fertilizers, 
and in some ways to the other fertilizers in accordance with the 
conceptions explained in more detail in the opening paragraphs of 
this chapter.* 

Time to Apply Commercial Fertilizers. — As more and more ex- 
perimental evidence accumulates regarding the responses of plants 
to the treatment of soils, on which they are grown, it is becoming 
increasingly clear that the time of application of certain of the plant 
food elements, or of other chemicals, is an important consideration. 
Unfortunately, however, the evidence which we have does not per- 
mit, as yet, of the formulation and definition of an accurate plan 
for the time of fertilization of soils. We are obliged, therefore, to 
fall back for the present upon the best observations which we possess 
relative to that question. Summarizing such observations under 
California conditions, it seems proper to say that the months of 
February and March are the best periods of the year to make fer- 
tilizer appHcations. The choice of those months usually secures the 
requisite supply of moisture in the soil for the solution of the fertil- 
izers directly or indirectly. Besides the low temperature of the soil 
at those periods does not permit of the energetic bacterial and fun- 
gous action which will insure the solution of enough of the soil's 
own supply of the necessary elements to supply the rapidly feeding 
roots, hence, the value of the supplementary materials furnished by 
the fertilizers at that time. 

Generally, the whole fertilizer application may be made at once, 
though there is no objection to dividing it into two or three appli- 
cations made three or four weeks apart. There are no results of 
experimental work to give a more trustworthy guide than this for 
the present. 

THE PURCHASE AND COST OF COMMERCIAL 
FERTILIZERS 

Commercial fertilizers are sold exclusively on the basis of their 
content of three of the essential elements to plant growth, viz., nitro- 
gen, phosphorus, and potassium. The adoption of this arbitrary 
standard has something to commend it, but it is, nevertheless, purely 
arbitrary, as has been made clear above. The production by large 
syndicates of commercial fertilizers for the market, and especially 
the mixed fertilizers, is largely responsible for the standards set and 
the prices adopted. Such prices are usually very high and frequently 
render the use of fertilizers on some crops unprofitable, even where 
the fertilizer elements may be needed. It is incumbent upon the pur- 

*Detai]ed information relative to the use of lime and gypsum on California soils will 
be found in Circular III of the California Agricultural Experiment Station, which will be 
sent free to anyone on request. 



154 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

chaser to choose his fertiHzers and to make his determination to use 
them only after careful deliberation and with great discrimination. 
The advice of the agricultural experiment station should always be 
sought in such matters, since their experience has been broad 
enough, even without definite scientific basis, to constitute a more 
reliable guide in such matters than the experience of the individual 
orchardist or vineyardist. 

The elements essential to plants are sold in fertilizers on what 
is known as the "unit basis." A unit in this connotation is the 
equivalence of one per cent of a ton. Thus, if nitrate of soda is sold, 
with nitrogen, at a $4 a unit, it means that for every 20 pounds (or 
1 per cent) of nitrogen which a ton contains, we pay $4. If nitrate 
of soda contains 15 per cent of nitrogen, the fertilizer sells at 4 
times 15 or $60 per ton. Such simple calculation w^ill readily make 
clear to the grower the basis upon which he purchases his fertilizers. 



DOES IT PAY TO USE FERTILIZERS? 

It should be clear from the foregoing discussion that this ques- 
tion, which is so frequently asked, cannot be answered without much 
reservation and qualification. From practical experience and such 
excellent evidence as that furnished by Professor Stewart at the 
Pennsylvania Experiment Station in working with apple orchards, 
there can be no question that fertilization of orchard soils is profit- 
able under some conditions. But we must also remember that under 
somewhat similar conditions at the New York Experiment Station 
at Geneva, Professor Hedrick was unable to obtain evidence that 
fertilizers pay, while under the totally different conditions of Cali- 
fornia, we could not expect either set of results to apply. Both of 
the investigators just named are doubtless correct, each for his own 
set of conditions, and this emphasizes the importance of the testing 
of fertilizers in every orchard and vineyard to determine the best 
practice for it, until such time as our scientific experiments may 
yield us something less empirical. The only orchard experiment in 
fertilization which we have in California which is at all usable as 
a guide is that carried on at the Citrus Experiment Station at River- 
side for the past ten years or more. That teaches us that nitro- 
genous fertilizers on that piece of land make a considerable increase 
in tree growth and fruit production, but has not demonstrated that 
it pays to fertilize even at that. It shows us very little, if any, 
effects from phosphatic and potassic fertilizers, and it has proved 
the injurious effects to that soil, under those conditions, of nitrate of 
soda. But the results obtained there, meager as they are, are not 
even applicable to any other piece of land necessarily. This em- 
phasizes again the point of view advanced with regard to the neces- 
sity of fertilizer trials in every vineyard and orchard. 

Above and in addition to all, it should be borne in mind, always, 
that fertilizers are merely supplementary measures for eking out 
directly and indirectly the necessary supply of the essential plant 
food elements in the soil. They constitute very little alone, but they 



IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIC MANURES J 55 

may be markedly effective through the changes which they cause in 
the chemical equilibrium of soils, both directly and through their 
effects on the micro-organisms of the soil. 

ORGANIC MATTER IN FERTILIZATION 

Indissolubly linked with the question of fertilizers on soils is that 
of organic matter. No soil can be, or remain, fertile for any length 
of time without organic matter. By organic matter we mean, in this 
connection, residues of plants like the tops, roots, or stubble, and 
the excrements of animals. The reasons for the importance of 
organic matter to soils may be stated popularly as follows : 

1st. It is the chief source of the soil nitrogen which is needed 
by plants. 

2nd. It furnishes the element carbon as a source of energy, as 
coal serves for the engine, for certain important bacteria which 
alone have the power of adding nitrogen from the air to the soil ; 
and for other bacteria and fungi which are concerned in changing 
essential substances in the soil from an insoluble and otherwise un- 
usable form to a soluble and usable one. 

3rd. It improves the water-holding power of sandy soils by 
giving them more water-holding surface, and, incidentally, prevents 
them from becoming packed and hence relatively impervious to 
roots and to air. 

4th. It improves the heavy clay soils by giving them a more 
crumb-like and porous structure and hence tends to prevent water- 
logging and allows of freer movement of air and roots. For the 
same reason it prevents baking of the soil and renders tillage much 
easier. 

The foregoing statements must render clear the outstanding im- 
portance of keeping soils well stocked with organic matter and the 
question naturally arises, how can this best be done? By applying 
to the soil and incorporating therewith any and all quantities of the 
following materials that the economic conditions in a given orchard 
or vineyard will permit : 

Horse, cow, sheep, goat, hog and chicken manures. 

Green manures, meaning the plowing under in spring of a winter 
grown crop, preferably a leguminous crop like melilotus, burr clover, 
or vetch. 

Pruning from trees and vines. 

Apple, grape, and other fruit pomace and cannery waste. 

Grain straws — preferably composted, and similar materials. 

How to Apply Organic Matter. — Animal manures should be 
broadcasted, or put on the soil with a manure spreader. They 
should then be plowed under or thoroughly cultivated in. Green 
manures should be thoroughly plowed under. Prunings of various 
kinds should be cut up into small pieces, spread evenly over the 
surface of the ground and then plowed under. Fruit pomace and 



256 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

cannery waste may be applied broadcast or by means of irrigation 
water. 

Amount of Organic Matter to Apply. — It is impossible to apply 
too much organic matter to soils and still maintain economic condi- 
tions on a farm. The relatively high cost of animal manures will 
render it unprofitable to apply enough to injure the soil. For that 
reason the thing to guard against is not too large, but too small an 
application of organic matter. When animal manures are used, the 
following amount should be considered as minima per annum : 

Per acre 

Horse manure 10 tons 

Cow manure 10 

Hog manure 5 

Sheep or goat manure 3 " 

Green manure crops, of course, cannot be too large to plow 
under. Every effort should be made to prepare the seed bed and 
irrigate so as to obtain the largest possible yield of green matter.'^ 

Precautions in the Use of Organic Matter. — To be of much serv- 
ice to the soil, organic matter must decay with a fair degree of 
rapidity. Such decay cannot occur without the presence in the soil 
of an ample supply of moisture. It is, therefore, obvious that much 
organic matter should not be applied to soil in the absence of suf- 
ficient moisture. Indeed, such practice may lead to distinct injury 
to the soil, owing to the drying out of the soil through the mechan- 
ical effects of the organic matter above discussed and to the use of 
moisture by micro-organisms attacking it, thus setting up a competi- 
tion with the plant. It is essential particularly to give heed to this 
warning in connection with dry and not easily decayed organic 
matter like grain straws, prunings and stable manure consisting 
chiefly of litter. 

Most careful attention should be given in such cases, and in the 
case of cover crops, that the supply of water is ample, the soil in 
good tilth, and the incorporation of the organic matter thorough. 
After such incorporation, the surface soil should be harrowed down 
to a fine state of division. 

Legume Straws. — A source of organic matter and additional 
nitrogen which deserves attention by itself is that of the legume 
straws. The most feasible ones to use in California are alfalfa hay, 
bean straw, and pea straw, the first two being most important. It 
is not sufficiently appreciated by fruit growers how valuable these 
materials are to their soils. Especially where they are to be ob- 
tained cheaply, these legume straws are to be used wherever possible 
in liberal dressings. Four to five tons per acre of any of these straws 
plowed under every year for periods of five to ten years will e.xert 
markedly beneficial effects on any orchard or vineyard soil. 



•Further information regardinR cover or (treen manure crops and their use on Cali- 
fornia soils will be found in Circular No. 110 and Bulletin No. 292 of the California 
Agricultural Experiment Station at Berkeley. 



CHAPTER XV 

IRRIGATION OF FRUIT TREES AND VINES 

Whether fruit shall be grown with irrigation or not is a local and 
specific question, and it must be answered with due regard for 
several conditions, among which are : First, the minimum local rain- 
fall ; second, the depth and character of the soil and subsoil ; third, 
the situation and environment of the ground on which the fruit is 
to be grown ; fourth, the kind of fruit which it is desired to produce. 

These conditions are all correlated, and a knowledge of them all 
is necessary to an intelligent decision as to correct practice in any 
given locality. For example, the amount of rainfall which is ade- 
quate in one locality, or in one situation, even, may be quite in- 
sufficient in another, because, first, one soil may be deep and fairly 
retentive, into which roots can penetrate and find abundant mois- 
ture ; second, another soil may have sufficient depth, but be so porous 
as to lose its moisture by evaporation, or so leachy as to lose it by 
drainage ; third, still another may be shallow, and quickly dried out 
under a fervid sun, or quickly drained by reason of a sloping sub- 
stratum of rock or hardpan, while another similar soil, differently 
situated, may receive abundant moisture from the drainage of the 
slope above it ; fourth, possibly in all the soils cited there might be 
adequate moisture for deciduous fruits, but citrus fruits would re- 
quire irrigation ; or enough for young, but not for bearing trees. 

Thus it appears that even to decide whether a location has suffi- 
cient rainfall for the growth of fruit without irrigation, one must 
pass judgment upon all conditions first mentioned. It is hardly 
worth while, then, to discuss such a topic upon theoretical grounds, 
or to attempt to answer the general question. Shall irrigation be 
employed in the growth of fruit? The true guide is enlightened local 
experience, and the true test is the growth of the tree and the ex- 
cellence of its fruit. So long as the grower is able to secure every 
year a generous amount of good-sized and excellent fruit by natural 
rainfall, he need concern himself very little about irrigation ; if his 
tree shows distress, and his fruit, even when properly thinned out, 
is not up to market standards every year, he may do well to provide 
himself with irrigation facilities, either for constant use or to supple- 
ment rainfall when it is occasionally deficient. 

Of course it is not commended that the grower wait until the tree 
shows signs of distress before applying water. This is a very bad 
plan of proceeding, but the visible language of the tree is mentioned 
as indicating that the tree needs help, either at regular intervals or 
occasionally, and after such a warning the grower should be able 
to tell by examination of the soil and by study of the local rainfall 
record when this need will occur, and apply water in advance of 
the need. 



258 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Recent experience has enabled fruit growers in all parts of Cali- 
fornia to arrive at a truer conception of the relation of irrigation 
to the growth of fruits. Many who long scouted the suggestion that 
irrigation was necessary for deciduous fruit trees in their districts, 
have found that water, in addition to the rainfall, was very profit- 
able, either to enable large, bearing trees to produce larger fruit, or 
to maintain in full vigor their later summer growth and to make 
strong fruit buds, which insure the following year's production. It 
has also been widely demonstrated that a tree which is adequately 
supplied with water, no matter whether it be directly from the clouds 
or through the irrigating stream, yields fruit of better size, aroma, 
flavor and carrying quality than a tree which, from any cause, falls 
even a little short of an adequate supply. It is clear then that neither 
irrigation nor non-irrigation are in themselves principles, but are 
merely methods to be employed when conditions demand the one or 
the other. 

Several claims against irrigated products may be stated and 
opposed in this way : 

(1) The claim that nursery trees grown by irrigation are, from 
that mere fact, inferior is based upon experience in transplanting 
trees unduly forced by over-irrigation. Immense growth from the 
bud in a single season of an inch and a half in diameter and ten feet 
in height tempted buyers who wanted to get as much as possible for 
their money. The result of setting out such trees created a strong 
prejudice against irrigated nursery stock. It is now clearly seen 
that moderate, thrifty growth is the ideal in a young tree, and if the 
soil does not hold rainfall enough to secure this, water enough to 
secure it must be applied. 

(2) The claim that irrigated fruit lacks aroma and flavor is 
based upon observation of monstrous, insipid fruit forced into such 
abnormal character by excessive irrigation. Growers who concluded 
therefrom that irrigated fruit was necessarily inferior, denied water 
to their trees and gathered small, tough, unmarketable fruit, because 
there was not enough rainfall to enable the trees to perform their 
proper function. As it is now conceded that the highest quality, 
including the delicate aromas and flavors, can be secured only by 
adequate moisture, it matters not how long since it fell from the 
clouds nor by what route it reaches the roots of the trees. 

(3) The claim that irrigated fruit could not endure shipment 
was based upon the bruising and collapse of fruit which was unduly 
inflated by over-irrigation. The best fruit for shipping is the perfect 
fruit and that is secured as just stated. The fact that the greater 
part of the fresh fruit shipped across the continent from California 
has been more or less irrigated, according to the needs of different 
localities, has settled the point beyond further controversy. 

(4) The claim that canners objected to irrigated fruit was based 
upon the early experience with over-irrigated fruit, which lacked 
quality and consistency. At present the canners encourage irriga- 
tion and all other arts of growing which bring the product up to the 
standards they insist upon. 



HOW MUCH WATER TO USE 159 

(5) The claim that irrigated fruit is inferior for drying has the 
same foundation as the preceding claims and is just as clearly based 
upon misapprehension. Watery fruit is obviously inferior for drying, 
but such fruit is the fault of the irrigator, not of irrigation. One 
of the plainest deductions from experience is that small, tough fruit 
makes unprofitable dried fruit, and that the best development of the 
fruit is essential to the best results from drying. Many comparative 
Aveighings have shown that the greatest yield in dried form has been 
secured from trees which have had water enough to produce good, 
large fruit. Even to bear fruit for drying, then, the tree must have 
moisture enough to develop size and quality. If lacking moisture, 
the tree serves its own purpose in developing pit and skin and re- 
duces the pulp, in which lie the desirability and value of dried fruits. 

Of course the water should be applied at proper times, in proper 
amount, and in a proper way. 

HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD BE USED? 

This is by its very nature an elusive question and any attempt to 
answer it by a definite prescription is more apt to produce folly than 
wisdom. For as it appears that whether irrigation is at all needed 
or not depends upon several conditions which must be ascertained 
in each place, so the amount of water, which is really an expression 
of the degree of that need, depends also upon local conditions of 
rainfall, of soil depth and retentiveness, of rate of waste by evapora- 
tion, of the particular thirst of each irrigated crop, etc. The result 
secured by the use of water is really the ultimate measure of the 
duty of water in each instance. In the case of fruit trees and vines, 
then, whatever amount of water secures thrifty and adequate wood 
growth and strong, good-colored foliage, but not excessive nor rank 
growth ; and abundance of good-sized and rich, but not monstrous 
and watery fruit, is the proper amount for that place and that prod- 
uct, — and to the ascertainment of that amount by local experience 
of himself and others, the grower should employ his most earnest 
thought and his keenest insight. 

During many years the writer has continually renewed his data 
of the irrigation practice of California fruit growers by systematic 
inquiry and has prepared four bulletins* which have been published 
by the Irrigation Investigations of the U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture. 

A study of local practice shows that infinite variety exists and in 
the nature of the case must exist, and that any definite prescription 
of the duty of water under various conditions is impossible. In some 
cases the amount of water at each irrigation must be small, and 
applications frequent because the soils are shallow, overlying bed- 
rock, and a small amount saturates them. In other places an acre- 
foot of water is readily absorbed and retained in the deep soil. The 

•Farmers' Bulletin No. 116, "Irrigation in Fruit Growing"; Farmers' Bulletin No. 138, 
"Irrigation in Garden and Field"; Bulletin of Experiment Stations No. 108, "Irrigation 
Practice Among Fruit Growers of the Pacific Coast"; annual report of irrigation and 
drainage investigations, 1904. "Relation of Irrigation to Yield, Size, Quality, and Com- 
mercial Suitability of Fruits." 



150 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

annual rainfall also has little relation to the amount of irrigation, 
because neither fine shallow, nor deep coarse soils, can retain the 
volume of water which falls upon them during the rainy season. 
Then the varying rate of evaporation, the character of the tilth, etc., 
enter as factors and it becomes clear that he is fortunate who knows 
how much water to use on his own place. 

It is interesting to note that results of close inquiry by the Irriga- 
tion Investigations of the U. S. Department of Agriculture to ascer- 
tain the amounts of water used by measurement of water running 
in main ditches and by estimate of the acreage to which the water 
is applied, do not agree closely with the growers' estimates of the 
amounts of water which they actually use. There are, of course, 
always issues between water-purveyors and water-buyers which can 
not be entered upon in this connection. A rough conclusion from 
data secured from the ditch flow, etc., is that from 12 to 30 acre- 
inches of water are used annually in irrigated orchards and vine- 
yards, according to local conditions involved. It is quite clear that 
the amounts chiefly used would not be the average but would tend 
toward the lower figure. The details of these inquiries are found 
in the publications on irrigation of the U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture.* 

RELATION OF RAINFALL TO IRRIGATION 

The amount of rain and the time it falls are clearly the most 
important factors in determining the necessity for irrigation. Ab- 
sence of rainfall makes a desert of the richest soils at all elevations 
and at all exposures. Its only remedy is irrigation. But there are 
degrees of poverty in rainfall, and thorough tillage will often lessen 
the ill effects of a scanty supply, so that an oasis may be made to 
appear without water beyond that supplied from the clouds. This 
is the triumph of tillage in the arid region which is to be considered 
in another connection. 

The line between adequate and insufificient rainfall can not be 
closely drawn. In the growth of common orchard fruits, irrigation 
may not be resorted to at a number of points where the local rainfall 
sometimes is as low as 15 or 16 inches, but with less than that 
amount, unless the soil receive additional moisture by underflow, it 
is essential. On the other hand, irrigation is regularly practised in 
some localities where the rainfall rises to 45 inches. Under average 
conditions of soil depth and retentiveness, the amount of rainfall 
which may be considered adequate for deciduous orchard trees un- 
der good cultivation is about 20 inches. So definitely is this amount 
fixed in the minds of some California growers as meeting the needs 
of the tree for satisfactory growth and foliage that, when rainfall 
for a season is less than that amount, irrigation is at once resorted 
to to supply the shortage. 



'Definite citation is not made because these publications are continually aDoearinK 
with additional data on the effective use of water. The whole series should be examined. The 
chief of the "Irrigation Investigations" of the Etepartment of Agriculture is Samuel Fortier 
whose office is in the Post Office Building. Berkeley, Calif. 



WHEN IS IRRIGATION DESIRABLE jgj 

But owing to local conditions of soil and climate, the rainfall, no 
matter how large, may not always be relied upon to carry the trees 
through the dry season. The fact is that the soil is not capable either 
of receiving the heavy rainfall or of long retaining such portions as 
actually enter it. There is, then, a considerable part of the rainfall 
which is worse than worthless, because it does injury by soil wash- 
ing and soil leaching, and places where extremely heavy rainfall 
occurs may be actually worse off than other places with less rain- 
fall. Some localities of large rainfall lead in amounts of water sup- 
plied by irrigation. The converse is also true, for some localities of 
light rainfall report success with deciduous fruit trees with a mini- 
mum amount of irrigation water. 

Deciduous Fruits. — Without making too much of individual re- 
ports there appear instances enough to warrant the conclusion that 
the deciduous fruit tree can winter successfully with a small mois- 
ture supply and is, in fact, in less danger from lack of moisture than 
from over-supply at this time of the year. If there be enough mois- 
ture to prevent injury from evaporation, the tree will start good 
growth as the season advances and continue it if irrigation is given 
promptly and in sufficient quantity. There must always be a deter- 
mination of what is an adequate supply by reference to local con- 
ditions, but as an estimate of necessary rainfall has been made at 20 
inches, it is evident that adequate irrigation may be very much less 
than that. The rainfall of 20 inches is distributed through six or 
seven months. Some of it consists of light rains, with long, dry 
intervals, where there is slight penetration and quick evaporation. 
Some of it is lost by run oft' and by drainage. It is not surprising, 
then, that some growers having deep valley loams to render their 
irrigation effective, report success with deciduous trees with 8 or 10 
inches of water applied just before the time of the tree's greatest 
needs and used, no doubt, with maximum efficiency. It seems to 
be a warranted deduction, from all data known to the writer, that 
10 inches of water, applied at the right time to soils of good depth 
and fair retentiveness, and accompanied by good tillage for con- 
servation, is an adequate supply for five months of growth and 
fruiting even when the rainfall is only about enough to prevent 
drying out during the winter season. Some growers report use of 
less than this. Certainly less will do for young trees under favor- 
able conditions, and some of the least amounts are reported from 
the newly planted regions. As the trees advance in age and bearing, 
larger amounts will be required. Instances of greatest frequency 
of application may be taken as indicating soils lacking retentiveness, 
either through shallowness or coarseness, or either of these accom- 
panied by extreme summer heat and aridity. 

Citrus Fruits. — As these trees are evergreens, and as their habit is 
to make their chief fruit growth in the autumn after the work of the 
deciduous tree has been finished for the season, the irrigation season 
for them is much longer. As they are, in fact, almost always active 
and sustaining evaporation from their leaf surfaces, they must 
always be provided with moisture or ill will result to tree or fruit. 



162 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



They thus require more water than do deciduous trees. There is 
the same relation between irrigation and rainfall with citrus, as with 
deciduous fruit trees, but the degree of relation is different. Many- 
trials have shown that it is practically impossible to grow satisfac- 
tory citrus fruits without irrigation, unless there be underflow, 
and this is often attended by the usual difficulties of high ground 
water and may be undesirable. There is no combination of heavy 
rainfall, or winter irrigation, and soil retentiveness which will supply 
the summer and autumn thirst of the orange or lemon in California. 
Irrigation, too, must be maintained both summer and winter 
wherever the rainfall is not well distributed and adequate. In the 
chief citrus regions of the State rainfall is seldom adequate except 
during January and February, and not always then. Under such 
conditions an estimate of the average requirements of citrus fruit 
trees in bearing would be about 20 inches of irrigation, irrespective 
of rainfall, although there are localities of larger rainfall and more 
retentive soils where crops of these fruits can be made with 10 
inches used at just the right time. 

RELATIONS OF SOIL TO IRRIGATION 

As already stated, the desirabihty of irrigation is unquestionably, 
in many cases, conditioned upon soil depth and character. This 
relation has received careful attention from soil physicists, and an 
understanding of it involves problems of plant growth and the move- 
ment of water in soils, the leading facts of which are available in 
popular form.* 

Analysis of such phenomena can not be undertaken in this con- 
nection, but a few striking contrasts in existing practice are very 
suggestive. 

On the famous river-bank fruit land of the Sacramento Valley, 
with loams of great depth and good retentiveness, and with an aver- 
age rainfall of approximately 20 inches, irrigation is resorted to only 
in years of minimum rainfall, when the precipitation is perhaps only 
about half the average. At nearly the same level, as already cited, 
where the soil is shallow and overlies hardpan, irregular irrigation 
is required. But still more marked contrast is found in the foothills 
within sight of these valley fruit lands, where with twice the average 
rainfall irrigation must begin early in the summer and continue until 
autumn is well advanced, because, first, the slope is so rapid that 
much rainfall is lost by run off ; second, the soil is too shallow above 
bedrock to hold much water. Even here, however, there comes 
in a local variation of measurable effect. When the soil Hes upon 
vertical plates of bedrock much water is retained between them, 
and is capable of being reached by tree roots, while soil lying upon 
flat plates of rock has no such subterranean reservoir. In the foot- 
hill region there also occurs exceptional exposure from slopes facing 



♦Relations of soils to climate, U. S. Dept. Akt., Weather Bureau Bui. 3. Water as a 
factor in the growth of plants. Yearbook U. S. Dept. of Agr., 1894, p. 165. Some inter- 
estinK soil problems. Yearbook U. S. Dept. Art., 1897. p. 429. The movement and re- 
tention of water in soils. Yearbook U. S. Dept. Art.. 1898. p. 399. The mechanics of soil 
moisture, U. S. Dept. Agr., Division of Soils, Bui. 10. 



CULTIVATION AND IRRIGATION I53 

the midsummer sun in an atmosphere whose dryness is but slightly 
ameliorated by the influence of air currents from the coast. 

In the valley and foothill contrast, just cited, the unirrigated 
valley looks up to the irrigated foothills. There are also places 
where unirrigated hillslopes look down upon irrigated valleys. The 
uplands of San Diego County are nearer the coast than those above 
the Sacramento Valley. They, too, have a rainfall usually ample for 
deciduous fruits suited to their elevation. Their rolling plateaus of 
deep soil, free from excessive heat and evaporation which occur on 
the highlands farther inland and 500 miles farther north, produce 
very successfully without irrigation. In this region, however, the 
rainfall in the valleys below is often less than the needs of even the 
deciduous fruit trees, and waters flowing from mountain snows 
through a region of unirrigated uplands must be used to irrigate 
them. 

Still another striking contrast, and one involving another and 
wholly different factor, is found in the San Joaquin Valley. Near 
Visalia 2 feet above river bottom and 4 feet above the surrounding 
plains, there is a large area of deep alluvial soil with much decayed 
vegetable matter. The land is moistened by underflow from the 
river, and, though the rainfall is but 7^^ inches, deciduous fruits are 
grown without irrigation. In the same county, and only 18 miles 
distant, there are areas of rich loam mixed with granite sand 16 to 
18 feet deep. In this locality, though the rainfall is 11^ inches, 
irrigation is practised freeh', as the loss of moisture in summer is 
very great. 

RELATION OF TILLAGE TO IRRIGATION 

Tillage, particularly during the dry season of the year, under 
some conditions, directly determines the need of irrigation, and is 
to a certain extent, as the popular phrase goes, a substitute for irri- 
gation. Under all conditions surface tillage by promoting conserva- 
tion of soil moisture, is determinative of the actual duty of water, 
whether it be from rainfall or irrigation. The effect of frequent 
surface tillage has been accurately determined by investigation and 
experiment, both in humid and arid regions. These experiments 
fully support the view taught by the experience of more than half 
a century in California, in accordance with which thorough tillage 
has been so widely practised in the arid sections as an essential to 
successful fruit growing. 

As already maintained in Chapter XIII, the relations of tillage to 
soil moisture include both reception and conservation. For the re- 
ception of moisture, deep work with the plow, and sometimes with 
the subsoiler also, is almost indispensable. To retain this moisture 
and to prevent, as far as possible, its escape into the thirsty air of 
the arid region by surface evaporation, less depth and more thorough 
surface pulverization are required. Recent practice has been tending 
toward deeper summer cultivation, so that, as previously claimed, 5 
or 6 inches of loose, finely divided soil is now obtained where for- 



J54 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

raerly half that depth was considered adequate. It has also been 
shown that frequent stirring of this fine surface layer checks evapo- 
ration, even when no water is applied to compact the surface of 
where no weeds grow to draw upon the soil moisture. In a word, 
the aim of tillage in the arid region, so far as it relates to moisture 
supply in the soil consists in opening the soil to rain, or to irrigation, 
and in subsequently closing it to evaporation. These are the prin- 
ciples which were recognized and applied in California seventy years 
ago and are now enjoying somewhat sensational renaissance in the 
"dry farming" agitation in the interior of the United States. 

A Negative Declaration. — It is interesting that current practice 
affords full demonstration of the foregoing claims both positively 
and negatively. The negative argument in favor of moisture con- 
servation by clean summer cultivation is found in the fact that 
growers in regions of heaviest rainfall approve the growth of cover 
crops, like clover, after the trees reach bearing age, and also that 
others employ scant summer cultivation, or cultivation for a short 
period only. The idea of these growers is that such practices relieve 
the soil of excessive moisture, either by the growth of the cover 
crop or by facilitating surface evaporation, and so prevent the tree 
from being stimulated to too large wood growth, or maintaining 
growth so late in the season as to enter the frost period in too active 
a condition and with new wood not properly matured. Quite in 
contrast with this is the practice, which is gaining ground in the 
hottest parts of the irrigated region, of growing alfalfa as a cover 
crop for the purpose of shading the soil and thus reducing soil tem- 
perature and, perhaps, of avoiding the ill effects of the reflection of 
burning sun heat from a smooth surface of light-colored soil, or the 
ill effect of "burning out of humus" by clean summer culture. In 
such cases more irrigation is needed to supply enough water for the 
growth of both trees and cover crop. But at present these excep- 
tions are of rare occurrence. 

Cultivation Not Determined by Irrigation. — The adoption of a 
policy of clean cultivation in the dry season is not conditioned upon 
the amount of moisture available either by rainfall or irrigation. 
It is pursued both where irrigation is practised and where it is not, 
and also where the rainfall is greatest and where it is least. It pre- 
vails in the humid region where rainfall may rise to 60 inches or 
more, and in the arid region where it may not exceed one-tenth as 
much. As a matter of fact, there does not appear to be a good fruit 
soil so deep and retentive that it can retain enough even of a very 
heavy rainfall to effect good tree growth and fruit bearing if it is 
forced to sustain the loss by evaporation from a compact surface 
during the long dry season following. There may be, it is true, soils 
weak in capillarity, in which water does not rise to surface evapora- 
tion and in which deep-rooting plants may find ample water in the 
subsoil, providing it is held there by impervious underlying strata. 
There are many more instances where loss by natural drainage is 
added to loss by evaporation. But, disregarding exceptions, the loss 
of moisture by both drainage and evaporation during the dry season 



WHEN TO IRRIGATE I55 

is SO great that the soil to a depth of several feet loses practically 
all the water which is available for plant growth, and the trees fail 
or become unprofitable. Loss by drainage can not, practically, be 
prevented, but loss by evaporation can be so reduced that trees and 
vines will be adequately supplied in spite of the loss by drainage. 
Because, therefore, the soil can not retain enough water in its natural 
state, no matter how much it may receive, clean summer cultivation, 
involving quite complete and more or less frequent stirring of the 
surface to the depth of 5 or 6 inches, as discussed in Chapter XIII, 
is the almost universal practice, irrespective of local rainfall or of 
irrigation — except where irrigation water is so abundant that it can 
be used to grow summer crops of legumes for plowing under as well 
as to supply the moisture requirements of the trees. 

Cultivation, However, Determines Success of Irrigation. — The 

prevailing motive for cultivation in the dry-summer region is mois- 
ture retention. In this respect good surface tilth is so effective that, 
though enough moisture can not be retained without it, so much can 
be retained with it that, even where irrigation or rainfall is moderate 
in amount, it may serve all purposes of the tree or vine. Thus culti- 
vation enters into the fruit-growers' practice in the region under 
consideration, not to make large rainfall effective as it does in some 
parts of the region, but to make moderate rainfall effective, or to 
make small irrigation effective, by increasing the duty of water 
which is applied. It becomes not only a ruling consideration in the 
effectiveness of a certain amount of rainfall, as has already been 
suggested in another connection, but it also determines the success 
of irrigation and the amount of water required ; for, although it was 
an early and crude practice to rely upon irrigation to support un- 
cultivated fruit trees and to irrigate more and more frequently as 
the ground became harder from its use, this policy has now no stand- 
ing in commercial fruit growing. Not only was it wasteful of water, 
but it was otherwise detrimental to the thrift of trees. 

Tillage and Irrigation Work for Soil Improvement. — Rational 
tillage, both in winter and summer, has other very important ends 
in view. It opens the soil and promotes aeration ; it encourages 
deeper rooting and thus encourages the tree to take possession of a 
greater soil mass both for moisture and other plant food. It is part 
of the very valuable policy of increasing organic inatter by plowing 
under the natural growth of weeds or specially sown legumes. This 
affords opportunity to use water, beyond the amount the trees re- 
quire, for soil improvement. 



WHEN TO IRRIGATE 

When to irrigate is governed by local conditions and the needs of 
different fruits, and can not be stated in general rules. There are, 
however, some principles involved which may be hinted at. 

Winter Irrigation, — On lands with sufficient depth of fairly re- 
tentive soil, the grower may artificially supplement a scanty rainfall 



J^ CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

by thoroughly soaking the land by winter irrigation and then by 
careful summer cultivation he will be able to conserve enough water 
in the soil to carry deciduous fruit trees or vines through bearing 
and autumn bud formation without further water supply. But there 
are other situations in which no amount of winter irrigation nor 
rainfall will suffice for these ends. There are foothill orchard areas 
in which the winter rainfall is two or three times as great as in the 
valley situations where fruit is successfully grown without irriga- 
tion, and yet water must be applied in summer on those foothills or 
the fruit would be unmarketable and the trees in distress. The forty 
or more inches of rainfall falling on a shallow soil underlaid by 
sloping bedrock in some cases nearly sluices the cultivated soil from 
its foothold, and yet the over-saturation in winter avails nothing for 
summer growth, because most diligent cultivation can not retain 
moisture enough in shallow soil thus situated to sustain bearing trees 
in good crops of full-sized fruit. The same is true of valley soils 
underlaid by hardpan. In such cases winter irrigation could add 
nothing but distress to the soil over-soaked by rainfall, and summer 
irrigation, well-timed and adequate, is the secret of success in the 
orchard. The same conclusion, although for very different reasons, 
must hold for soils underlaid by gravel or sand, and thus too rapidly 
dried by leaching. 

But even this generalization must be accepted only for situations 
endowed with conditions which justify it. There may be sloping 
hills with shallow soil where winter rainfall does not amount to 
saturation. Then winter irrigation to supply such irrigation is 
desirable, and then, too, summer irrigation in proper amount and 
at proper intervals, will also be demanded. Among the foothills, 
also, there may be localities with depth of retentive soil in which 
water enough can be applied in winter to carry trees through the 
year. Thus we come again to the only safe generalization which can 
be made, and that is, that everywhere water must be adequate to 
the demands of the tree at the time it is needed, and whether it can 
best be applied in summer or winter, or both, or whether it is not 
necessary to make any artificial application at all, depends upon 
existing conditions which the grower must ascertain, and to which 
his policy and practice must conform. It is a fact, however, that, in 
all situations of good rainfall, and for all soils, which are fairly deep 
and retentive, winter irrigation, when water is most abundant, and 
usually carries most sediment, can be made to go far toward making 
summer irrigation unnecessary for all deciduous fruits. 

As to winter irrigation, practice varies, some relying upon a single 
heavy flooding by using checks on contour lines, by which, perhaps, 
a foot in depth or more of water is allowed to soak into the soil; 
others use the same method of application in winter as in summer, 
and, therefore, give a number of irrigations in winter. There is, of 
course, much less danger of injury by water to deciduous growths 
in winter, because they are dormant, though an eye should be kept 
on drainage for excessive irrigation as for excessive rainfall. The 
grape and the pear are known to endure long submergence, but some 
other fruits are susceptible to serious root-injury. 



METHODS OF IRRIGATION 15/ 

Summer Irrigation. — When this shall begin and when end are to 
be locally determined. In some places even the earliest fruits can 
not reach satisfactory size and quality without irrigation. In others 
rainfall with winter irrigation will suffice for proper development of 
early fruits, but not for late. In both cases the fruit may be satis- 
factory, but the tree unable to hold its leaf vigor until the work of 
the growing season is properly completed. It is then apparent that 
local practice must vary in order to reach the universal fact, and 
that is that all through the active season the tree must have constant 
and adequate moisture supply. Many evils in lack of bearing, in 
dying back, in unseasonable activity and the like are due to in- 
adequate, intermittent and, in some cases, to excessive moisture in 
the soil. 

Cultivation and Irrigation. — Although the relations of irrigation 
and cultivation have been freely discussed, it must be remarked in 
this connection that with such an extension of irrigation practice as 
is now realized, there is danger that those who have previously 
trusted so fully upon good cultivation may swing to the other ex- 
treme and trust too much to the stream of water and too little to the 
plow and cultivator. There is a temptation this way when one finds 
that he can run water in large amounts very cheaply. Not only is 
there danger of over-irrigation in the growth of tree and fruit, but 
the ill effects of water upon the soil, when unattended by good culti- 
vation, are constantly threatened. The tree needs air as well as 
water; it needs a certain free condition of the soil for its best root 
action. These needs can be amply secured when adequate applica- 
tion of water is quickly followed by soil-stirring. Irrigated soil when 
amply supplied with organic matter, is delightfully mellow and free 
and of condition to invite the fullest activity on the part of the tree. 
Irrigated ground not properly treated becomes compacted, fissured, 
cloddy and generally hateful, losing moisture rapidly, setting around 
the roots like cement and tearing them by its subsequent shrinkage. 
These conditions do not occur on the lighter soils, and yet even these 
are best when cultivated in a rational manner. 



METHODS OF IRRIGATION 

There are various methods employed in California for the con- 
veyance and application of water to trees and vines. Some of the 
principal ones will be described. 

As this writing does not pretend to be a treatise on irrigation 
engineering, no attempt will be made to secribe the more ambitious 
undertakings, which should never be entered upon without the en- 
gagement of a qualified engineer. Nor is it possible to discuss the 
numerous devices which are covered by patents. Investment should 
always be preceded by visits to irrigation works now in operation, 
and procedure should be guided by observation. The hints presented 
herewith relate chiefly to things the irrigator can do for himself. 

Free Flooding. — Flooding — that is, the free flow of water over 
the whole surface, or the flow between rows with furrows near the 



168 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



trees to retain the water in the interspaces — is only employed on 
some flat lands where wnnter irrigation is used to supplement rain- 
fall when the latter is occasionally below normal. In such cases 
water is available in large quantities, and the lay of the land favors 
quite even distribution. Even under these conditions the experience 
of growers soon leads to the adoption of deep furrows or lateral 
ditches, or some simple check system, as superior to flooding. 
Summer flooding is done only by those who are unacquainted with 
better methods or who count their trees of too little account to 
warrant extra effort. It seems, therefore, a fair conclusion that 
flooding is only resorted to as a temporary expedient, and has little 
standing. 

The Check System. — With soils of such character that vertical 
percolation is very rapid, flooding in checks, by which water is held 
upon a particular area until it sinks below the surface, is considered 
necessary. There is a tendency to change from this methods to a 
furrow system wherever practicable, because the former requires 
more soil shifting, a larger head of water for economical operation, 
more labor to handle it, more w^orking in water and mud, and more 
difficult cultivation to relevel the land and to reduce a puddled 
surface to satisfactory tilth. For these and other reasons, perhaps, 
on loams of medium fineness one may find two adjacent growers 
pursuing different methods, while on coarse porous loams the check 
or basin system prevails, and on fine, retentive loams, the furrow 
system is without rival. 

The check system can be seen on the most extensive scale in the 
upper part of the San Joaquin Valley, where the land is so level and 
water so abundant that the checks can be measured by acres or 
fractions of acres. In its most perfect form it is found in Orange 
County and some parts of Los Angeles County, where the checks are 
measured by feet, rarely by rods. Very large checks are chiefly used 
for field crops, although also employed for winter irrigation for 
vineyards and orchards of deciduous fruits. With fruits, however, 
even in the same district, the tendency is toward using smaller 
checks carefully leveled before planting. With the large-check 
system permanent levees, either in rectangular form or on the con- 
tour plan, are generally used. The small-check system is chiefly laid 
off with temporary levees, quickly made with special appliances 
and as quickly worked back to a level as soon as the ground dries 
sufficiently after irrigation, and the whole surface kept well cultivated 
until the time arrives for a restoration of the levees for the next 
irrigation. The latter is the leading horticultural mode. It is care- 
fully described by Mr. Sydmer Ross, of Fullerton, Orange County, 
California, as follows : 

The check system, as carried out in the best-handled orchards, entails 
much hard work, but after you are through with an irrigation you know that 
each and every tree has had its full supply of water or you know the reason 
why. The ground must be cultivated, say, about 5 inches deep, so as to have 
plenty of loose soil with which to throw up a high ridge. Then a four or six 
horse "ridger" should be run once each way through the rows, if it is a citrus 
or deciduous orchard, or twice should the trees be walnuts, because these 



MAKING CHECKS FOR IRRIGATION 



169 



trees are grown about 40 feet apart. After this is done the ridger should be 
run entirely around the outside of the piece to be irrigated, so as to have as 
perfect a ridge as possible on the outside. One man will ridge about 15 acres 
in a day. The ridger should be built with a steel plate extending along the 
bottom on both sides, bolted to the inside and projecting about 2 inches, so 
as to take good hold of the ground. Then with one horse attached to what is 
locally known as a "jump scraper," one side of the checks should be closed 
up, for the ridger in making the cross ridges breaks down the first ridge at 
its intersection. These repairs were at first made with a shovel, but the jump 
scraper, also called locally the "horse shovel," closes up the gaps very 
quickly. The practice generally followed is to close up the high side of the 
checks if the land does not cut by running water, but if it cuts, close up the 
lower side. 

After closing up the checks the ditches are plowed out and then the V- 
shaped "crowder" is run twice through them. On lands inclined to cut it is 
advisable that the length of the rows to be irrigated should not be over 250 
feet, but in heavy land this distance can be considerably increased, if neces- 
sary, without danger of cutting the ridges by too long a run of water. 

If the checks have been closed up on the low side of the ridge, it is better 
to run the water to the ends of the ditch and water the last row first; but if 
the high side has been closed up, it is best to water first the row nearest the 
gate or the main ditch, as the case may be, as in each instance dry earth will 
thus be available, if necessary, to close up the checks. The water is run 
down the row to the end tree, and as soon as the last check is filled it is 
closed up, and so on till all are filled and closed, when the water is turned 
down the next row. 

To do good work it is usual to allow three men for every 50 inches of 
water, but in our own practice we have had much better results b> dividing 
up our water and running from 35 to 40 inches to a ditch and allowing two 
men for such streams. In doing this we get better work and find it much 
easier for the men. If everything is well in hand, each man will irrigate 
about 30 acres in a day. 

For turning the water from the ditches into the checks metal dams or 
tappoons are used. Some of these have a gate for the division of the water 
when the stream is too large and is divided, and two rows are watered at 
the same time. The gate is not a great success, as the water is apt soon to 
cut its way under the tappoon, but it may be much improved by having a 
shelf for the water to drop on after it passes through the opening. The 
common practice for dividing water is to throw a tappoon partly across the 
ditch, putting a gunny sack on the opposite side to prevent cutting by the 
water. This is, on the whole, fully as satisfactory as using the tappoon with 
a gate. 

All who follow this system should get ready for the water before it 
comes. A great many seem to think that if they ridge up their land, close 
up the checks, and plow out their ditches, everything necessary has been 
done. Such is not the case, as ditches that are liable to cut should be fixed 
in the weak places with brush or burlaps. Old gunny sacks cut open and 
spread out are excellent for this purpose. Occasionally there are places 
where it is impossible to get a perfect ridge. These should be looked up 
and fixed with a shovel. The jump scraper will not entirely close up a 
check; it generally requires a shovelful or two to complete it. It is usual 
after the water is turned down one row to fix up the next one, but it is an 
excellent plan to have a few rov/s fixed up ahead, for there come times when 
breaks occur and there is not time to make the necessary repairs, and when 
water once gets the start there is apt to be much trouble, and hard work 
before it can be put under control, besides doing poor work . 

After the ground is dry enough to work, the ridges are split with a listing 
plow or furrower attached to a cultivator. Then the ground should be run 
over with a harrow, setting the teeth to go well in, so as to pulverize the 
surface thoroughly. By using the harrow the ground can be worked about 
one day earlier than with the cultivator, and it also prevents the ground 
from baking till such time as it can be worked with the latter implement, 
besides doirLg far better work than with the cultivator alone, especially when 



170 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



there is much land to go over, as some of it is certain to get too dry before 
it can be reached, and then it will not pulverize well. All trees should be 
worked around by hand with either a fork or hoe, as soon after irrigation 
as the ground becomes dry enough and before it becomes hard. 

Specifications for Homemade Implemients for the Check System. 

— The following implements, used in preparing the ground for irri- 
gation by the check system, were made on the fruit ranch of J. B. 
Nefif, Anaheim, California, with the tools ordinarily found on a 
ranch, and with but little help from the blacksmith : 

The Ridger. — This has sides of 2 by 16-inch pine 7 feet long, 
standing 18 inches apart at the rear and 5 feet apart at the front 
end. The sides may be made of 2 by 8-inch pieces with 2 by 3-inch 
battens bolted on securely. The front crossbar is 2 by 4-inch pine 
6 feet 2 inches long, and is set 20 inches from the end. The rear 
crossbar is of 2 by 4-inch pine 4 feet 4 inches long. It is set 7 inches 
from the end of the sides. The diagonal braces are 1 by 3-inch pine 
6 feet 10 inches long. The short side braces are 2 by 3-inch pine 15 




The "Ridger." 

For levee making in the check system of irrigating trees and vines. 

inches long. The lower inside edge should be protected by a strip 
of steel or iron J^ by 2 inches extending to and around the front 
ends, which should be beveled to a sharp edge. The inside should 
also be lined with sheet iron 6 or 8 inchs above the Vs by 2-inch 
piece, and should have sheet-iron pieces extending 16 inches beyond 
the rear end of the sides, tapered and braced in the manner shown 
in the cut, for the purpose of making the ridger firmer at the top. 
Every part of the ridger should be firmly bolted with ^-inch bolts, 
except the Ys by 2-inch iron, which should have 3-16-inch bolts, and 
the sheet-iron, which may be put on with nails. The hooks on sides 
for hitching draft chain are ^ by 1>^ inches, and the draft chain is 
^-inch cable chain. 

The V-shaped Crowder or Ditcher. — This has sides of 2 by 12- 
inch pine and cross-brace of 2 by 9-inch pine. The long side is 7 feet 
8 inches long and short side 3 feet 6 inches long. This is also pro- 
tected by a piece of steel or iron extending entirely around the 
ditcher and bolted with 3-16-inch bolts. The sides come together in 



IMPLEMENTS FOR CHECKING 



171 



a point and stand at an angle of 45 degrees. The brace is placed 
2 feet 10 inches from the point on short side and 3 feet 10 inches 
from the point on long side. It also has two handles, as shown in 
cut, 3 feet long. These are made of 2 by 3-inch pine reduced so as 
to hold conveniently. The sloping handle is bolted to the short side. 




The "Crowder." 

Used in the preparation and distribution of water in the check system. 

When in use this implement stands with the short side elevated at 
an angle of about 35 degrees, and a floor is placed in the triangular 
space so that it will be level when in use. An ordinary wide clevis 
is used for the draft and is placed as shown in the cut. A vertical 
hole may be made in front of the clevis pin and a small rod driven 
in to strengthen the hold of the clevis. 




The "Jumper." 

Used to complete levees by the "ridger" for the check system. 



The Jump Scraper or Horse Shovel. — This is used for filling gaps 
in the ridges, and is the work of the blacksmith. The beams are J4 
by 1^ inches and 30 inches long from the draft ring to the bend 
downward. The shovel is of No. 16 sheet-iron, 24 inches long by 
18 inches deep. The handles are those used on any cultivator. The 



172 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

beams are bent to stand 6 inches forward of a square placed on top 
of the beams. The braces are of ^-inch round iron. The shovel is 
slightly cupped to make it hold more earth. 

The Portable Gate or Tappoon. — These are for shutting ditches, 
and are made of No. 16 sheet-iron 2 feet wide and of any desired 
length, but usually 3 feet, 4 feet or 5 feet long. The corners are cut 
off to a circle, starting about 1 foot back of the corner. The handles 
are made of 2 pieces of 1 by 3-inch pine, 12 inches longer than the 
gate, and are placed one on each side of the sheet iron and secured 
by ^-inch bolts. 

The Combined Check and Furrow Method. — An effort to escape 
in some measure the puddling of the surface which results from 
allowing water to sink away upon finely pulverized soil, lies in the 
direction of breaking up the soil roughh^ in the bottoms of the 
checks, which facilitates the quick passage of the water into the 
subsoil. This is done by running a small plow or three large culti- 
vator teeth attached to a single frame before the ridger is used to 
form the levees. Mr. A. D. Bishop of Orange County, California, 
uses a combined furrow and check system, as shown in the accom- 
panying diagram. He furrows the land first with a three-tooth 
furrower at right angles to the direction in which the water is to 
flow, and then uses the ridger to make levees in line with the water, 
laying out the work so as to get the closest approximation to a level. 
When the levees are made, the jump scraper is used and the end of 
each third or fourth furrow bank is connected with the levees at 
alternating sides of the check made by the levees. This causes the 
water to flow through the furrows from side to side and distribute 
itself evenly over the whole ground. The number of furrows which 
can be passed before connecting with the bank depends upon the 
slope of the land — the nearer level the land the greater the distance 
that can be left between the connections, and vice versa. In this 
way the water is taken slowly down a grade where it would flow 
too rapidly were it admitted to furrows in the direction of its flow. 

Another combination of the check and furrow system is found 
Avhere the lowest spaces of a slope irrigated by furrows are laid off 
in checks to catch the overflow from the furrows and compel its 
percolation at a point which would otherwise receive too little water. 
The parts of a furrow system which lie farthest from the source of 
supply are obviously least supplied, because long flow can not be 
maintained there without much loss from overflow. Holding the 
water in checks at the lower end — usually for two rows of trees — 
is quite a help toward even distribution. 

The Basin System.— The term basin should be restricted to in- 
closures which do not aim at covering the whole surface, but only 
a smaller area immediately surrounding the tree. The check system 
is clearly a more rational and perfect method of flooding. When 
basins were used on ground capable of irrigation by the check or 
furrow systems, it was probably due to a misconception which has 
prevailed also in the practice of fertilization, that the tree derived 
its chief benefit from the soil immediately surrounding and beneath 



LAYING OFF CHECKS AND FURROWS 



173 



its bole, and that distant applications were likely to be wasted. 
Years ago it was held that the lateral root extension of a tree was 
equal to the spread of its branches, but recent investigations have 
shown that under favorable soil conditions the root extension is 
much greater. It is not reasonable then to restrict water or other 
plant food to the region chiefly occupied with the stay roots and 
not the feeding roots of the tree, and it is a frequent observation 
that basined trees do not do so well and that they show distress 
sooner than those under systems which secure more complete water 
distribution. 

To the basin system may, however, be conceded these possibili- 
ties : (1) Trees may be grown on hillsides too steep for other means 
of irrigation unless the hillside be previously terraced ; (2) the 



S. j» FURROWS 









^3 IC^'c^Uirf7lt,'it1!!rijii''i>'ii^ 






4SfeU£<i!»'"rniHin!7n"fc)> 




Combined check and furrow irrigation. 



basins afford an opportunity to use a very small stream of water 
by allowing it to run for a long time in each basin, thus making a 
miniature reservoir at the base of each tree ; (3) for young trees 
a small amount of water may sustain growth, while with other 
methods the same amount of water would be almost wholly lost by 
evaporation or percolation, or both ; (4) the expense of wider appli- 
cation of water and the necessary after-cultivation is obviated. 

In planting on hillsides, terracing is the foundation of the basin 
system. Terraces are plowed and scraped out until they have width 
enough to accommodate a line of basins and a ditch at the foot of 
each bank to supply them. The terraces are given a little fall, alter- 
nating in direction so that the water, starting from the ridge above, 
is dropped through a box, or otherwise let down, from the low end 



174 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

of one terrace to the high end of the next, and so on until the stream 
reaches the bottom of the slope. As a basin is reached it is filled 
and closed and the water sent along to the next and so on. As these 
basins are usually small and shallow they are filled two or three 
times in succession at each irrigation. 

Wherever water can be handled in contour ditches or furrows, 
terracing should seldom be undertaken for commercial purposes. 
With slopes which do require terracing, basins on the steeper 
parts are largely made by hand labor, after plowing to loosen the 
whole surface, and the operation consists of moving the earth from 
the upper side of the tree so as to form a circular levee on the lower 
side, until the tree stands in a level, roundish pan as large as can be 
made without too much excavation and filling. As the slope becomes 
less the basins enlarge and reach a diameter, finally, where the sides 
can be made by turning a small horse or mule around the tree with 
a plow, the rim being further raised and shaped by hand so as to 
hold 3 inches or more of water without danger of breaking away. 

The basins are filled with a small stream by ditch or hose or pipe 
line, according to the ground and notion of the irrigator. They are 
filled at such intervals as the water supply admits or the growth 
seems to need. The basin bottom is rarely disturbed. The cracking 
soil is finally given another dose of water to close up its wounds ; 
meantime the frequent surface soaking puddles the soil and the 
conditions unfavorable to growth arrive sooner or later, according 
to the disposition of the soil to run together by water settling. Dry- 
ing and cracking is lessened by filling the basin with manure or 
rotten straw or other light rubbish, or by a layer of coarse sand on 
the bottom. As the tree grows the foliage shades the basin and thus 
reduces evaporation. 

Where the surface is uneven or the soil too leachy to carry water 
well in a ditch, portable and adjustable carriers are used to advan- 
tage. Of these, slip-joint pipes of non-rusting metal or of wood, are 
most satisfactory and are coming to be largely used. 

The Furrow System. — The furrow system is the prevailing 
method of irrigating fruit trees except with some soils which can be 
better handled with less water by the check system. The furrow 
system has, however, a very marked theoretical advantage in the 
escape from saturating the surface soil, which has to dry out again 
before it can be cultivated, and it is only with difficulty reduced to 
fine tilth after such puddling. Another advantage is in saving the 
water used in moistening soil which has to be dried by evaporation. 
Other theoretical advantages lie in the even distribution of the 
water with the least displacement of the soil and the introduction of 
the water to the subsoil, where deep-rooting plants should derive 
their chief sustenance. It became quite clear years ago that all these 
theoretical advantages were not realized by the furrow system as 
generally practiced, and a number of modifications were introduced 
to secure their fuller realization. The changes tended toward re- 
ducing the difference between what are known as the "large-fur- 
row" and the "small-furrow" methods, because the improvement lies 



LAYING OFF LARGE FURROWS 



175 



chiefly in introducing the water more deeply in the soil as will be 
shown later, and this is done by using fewer and deeper furrows. 

Irrigating by Largie Furrows. — Where one to four furrows are 
used, these are large furrows, while the small-furrow system uses 
from five to eight or more between two rows of trees. Large furrows 
are made with the double-moldboard plow, or with a single plow fol- 
lowed by the "crowder," or by plowing out dead furrows between 
the rows, etc. Their number depends upon the size of the trees and 
the fitness of the soil for lateral seepage. They are wide enough and 
deep enough to carry or hold a large stream of water. This method 
is used chiefly for winter irrigation on land which is so nearly level 




Large furrow. 

Large furrow irrigation of orange trees at Palermo. Butte County, Cal. 



that the water will flow slowly into the furrows and stand there until 
it disappears by percolation. It is also used where one or two sum- 
mer irrigations are all that is required to carry the trees through. It 
is obviously adapted only to land of slight and uniform grade. Ir- 
rigation by a single furrow cut near to the row of trees is a widely 
prevalent method with young trees. When the trees are larger, or 
when inter-cultures are undertaken, the large furrows are multi- 
plied. In this case the water is admitted to the furrows from open- 
ings in a board flume or the furrows are filled from a lateral ditch ; 
this lateral being parallel to the main ditch. In this case the board 
dam is used to divert the laternal into one large furrow after an- 
other, and when the furrow is filled dirt is thrown in to prevent the 



J76 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW TH?:m 

reflow of the water into the lateral. Where the orchard is piped 
for irrigation, as has become quite common, the furrows are filled 
from hydrants — flumes and ditches being dispansed with. 

The great variety in large furrow practice is suggested in the 
foregoing. A systematic manner of proceeding is that of Mr. A. 
Trost, of Palermo, California, as described by himself : 

The soil is red, gravelly clay, the upper 12 inches without rocks; below 
this the gravel is more rock. At the depth of 3 or 4 feet the red clay changes 
into a whitish one and water enters it very slowly. My orchard is 12 acres — 
1,120 feet long from north to south and 510 feet from east to west. The 
northeast corner is the highest. Here the water ditch enters, and I run my 
head ditch along the east side from north to south. There are 51 rows of 
trees in that direction, the north and south outside rows being olives. There 
are 23 orange trees in the row from east to* west and 1 olive tree on the west 
end. All trees are 20 feet apart. I use 24 miners' inches per day for 5 days 
in the following manner: I use 4 furrows about 5 or 6 inches deep and 
about 3 feet apart between rows, leaving the rows nearest the trees from 5 
to 6 feet from the trunks. The 4 lower rows on the west side I cross-furrow 
with 2 furrows between the trees. I divide the 24 inches into 51 equal 
streamlets by using one gate for each 4 rows. First turn this amount into 
the furrow south nearest to tree. When the water has moved to the olive 
tree, I divide the water between the 4 furrows for the lower 6 trees and 
through the cross furrows. The next morning I divide the water at the 
tenth tree for the 4 furrows. On the third day I let only one-half the water 
go down in the furrow south of tree, the other in the one north nearest to 
tree. On the fourth day I turn part of it in the middle furrows near the 
head ditch, and by the fifth day I have my place equally wet from one end 
to the other, taking care that the top soil near the trunks of trees remains 
dry on the surface. I keep the soil around the trunks of the trees about 2 
inches higher for a width of 3 feet. In this way I use all the water without 
running any off, and lose only the evaporation. The whole amount of water 
used is 120 inches, equal to 10 inches or 130,000 gallons per acre, or 4.5 acre- 
inches, or 1,200 gallons per tree. 

I irrigate about every four weeks, running the water five days and turning 
it on again three weeks after it is taken off. I have irrigated as early as the 
1st of April and as late as the middle of October, depending on late rains in 
spring and early rains in fall; usually from five to six irrigations per year. 
After four or five days I cultivate 14 feet wide between the trees from 6 to 
8 inches deep; for this I use a 7-foot cultivator and four horses. Near the 
trunk of the tree I work about two inches deep and a little farther away 4 
inches deep, using the three-cornered orchard plow with a cultivator 4 feet 
wide and two horses. 

Irrigation by Large Furrows Without Summer Cultivation. — 

An exception to the continuous cultivation of orchard ground which 
is prevelent in the irrigated regions of the Pacific Coast is found in 
the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California, where furrows are 
made at the beginning of each irrigating season and used continu- 
ously during the summer. The ensuing winter plowing and early 
spring cultivation are relied upon to keep the soil in good condition. 
Although this constitutes an exception and the practice is widely 
followed for what seems to the growers of the region to be a good 
and sufficient reason, it does not militate against the truth of the 
continuous summer cultivation policy which elsewhere prevails, nor 
does it follow that this policy would not be better in some respects 
even in the region where it is abondoned. It is a district of very 
large water supply, and the arrangements of the water company are 
such that the grower must pay for a certain number of inches of 



PERMANENT IRRIGATION FURROWS [J J 

water by the year, and is entitled to this amount of continuous flow. 
He has to use it or neglect it as it flows, and cannot get more at one 
time by not using it at another. For this reason he has not the mo- 
tive for close observation which prevails under other conditions, 
and to escape the cost of summer cultivation and fresh furrowing 
out he has recourse to frequent flows in the old furrows. The fol- 
lowing interesting account of the prevailing method was prepared 
by Mr. W. R. Fountain, of Newcastle : 

Water is supplied almost exclusively by one company, which has met 
requirements up to date, and seems fixed to supply in excess of demand. It 
is supplied by the miner's inch; price $45 per inch per season for a constant 
supply. The inch is measured under 6-inch pressure. 

Beginning May 1st, five months is called the irrigating season, but the 
purchaser can have the water twelve months per annum if he wants it. The 
water company collects monthly. The purchaser cannot start the season 
with little and increase at pleasure, except upon payment for the full season 
on the basis of the largest amount used at any time. 

With this constant supply we use it constantly, piping to high points and 
moving it from place to place. When no fruit is ripening it is attempted to 
water a block of trees in twenty-four hours. The water is not checked back, 
but is run in ditches, mostly in one, but occasionally in two, along each row 
of trees or vines. When a variety of fruit is ripening more water is given 
the trees, while after a variety is picked and before any other is nearh' ripe 
the effort is made to water each tree every ten or twelve days. Level land 
and low spots stand a good chance, as a rule, to get too much water, and a 
larger stream is used per row to force the water through quickly. Then 
it is taken off in a shorter time than it would be where the trees are on a 
side-hill and have a good drainage. 

About 1 inch for each 8 acres is generally used. This is for deciduous 
fruits. The citrus fruits and berries require watering about once a week; 
if there is good drainage they would prosper if watered every three days. 
In such ground I have not heard of their getting either too much water or 
too much fertilizer. The general practice is to plow, cross plow, and then 
after each rain cultivate, with no cultivation whatever after beginning the 
use of water. I think an occasional cultivation after watering would help. 

There is a tendency for the ditches to become packed after water has 
been flowing through them for some time, in which case but little water 
soaks into the ground. When this occurs I dig a pot hole in the ditch to 
allow the w^ater to soak in, or else loosen the ground about the trees with 
a spade and carry the ditch through this loosened ground. I block out my 
ditches so that I can get my stream through the last tree in about sixteeii 
hours. Where the water has not reached the end of some of the ditches, I 
turn the water into it from a stream that is flush, and by keeping a man with 
a hoe constantly with the water, I manage to get it over the field at about 
4 p. m. I wet about 350 trees in a block on hillsides; on a flat I wet less, 
using more water in each stream, and changing it about every twelve hours 
instead of every twenty-four hours. Mj;^ trees grow about 130 to an acre. 

Systematic Distribution of Water on Hillsides. — The common 
method of carrying water in pipes to the various high points of 
several slopes or "irrigated faces" from which it can be admitted 
to large furrows crossing or descending those faces is open to some 
difficulties and disarrangements. P. W. Butler, of Penryn, had in 
successful operation for several years a system of zigzag ditches for 
carrying and distributing and for catching outflow and redistrib- 
uting on a lower face. This is also a system which makes ditches 
and furrows but once a year, and dispenses with summer cultivation. 



178 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Mr. Butler's account, as illustrated by the accompanying diagram, 
is as follows : 

The amount of water generally used in this section for the irrigation of 
deciduous fruit trees is 1 inch to 5 acres of orchard (miner's inch under 6- 
inch pressure), and is applied to each row of trees by one stream of water 
of sufficient quantity to just reach the end of the row. Much of the water 
is thus wasted because of inability to properly adjust its distribution. It is 
usually run twenty-four hours, then changed to other parts of the orchard 
until the whole is covered, which takes about three weeks' time, when the 
process is repeated, continuing throughout the summer, or from May 1 until 
October 1. There is no cultivation in the meantime, and at each irrigation 
the water is run in the same ditches. This system is followed in nearly all 
the orchards of Penryn and vicinity, some on quite steep hillsides, which 
suffer when the water is thus applied. I have never liked this method, and 




NEARLY LEVEL 



Zigzag ditches 

Large furrow system on hillside with zigzag ditches for distribution, 
catchment, and redistribution. 

for many years have used a different system in irrigating all orchards over 
which I have had control. In my home orchard I have a reservoir on the 
highest land, from which water can be conveyed as desired to every part. 
My ditches are run on a grade with a fall from 2 to 3 inches to the rod and 
from 5 to 8 feet apart. At each irrigation the water is run about thirty-si.K 
hours before changing. The round of the orchard is made in ten to four- 
teen days. None of my small ditches exceed 400 feet in length. When I 
begin to irrigate a section I turn on from the reservoir water sufficient to 
cover the section in a few hours, then lessen it until it just reaches the end 
of each row, but see that it reaches the end of each row if a little surplus 
passes over. This surplus I take up in the main ditch, to be again used on 
lower ground. This is continued until the lowest part of the orchard is 
reached, and very little water is ever wasted. By running on a grade that 
is so nearly level the water is applied uniformly, even on the driest parts of 
the hill slopes. I run the main distributing ditches in a zigzag manner, tak- 



SMALL FURROW IRRIGATION 179 

ing water from these ditches to cover the lower sections. I formerly used 
pipes to lead the water down the steepest grades, but this system I have 
abandoned and now use open zigzag ditches for mains. From the main 
zigzag ditches I do not take the water at the turning point, as there is more 
liability of breakage than if taken when running straight, or at whatever 
point is necessary to keep the distributing ditches on an average of 8 feet 
apart. The length of the zigzag ditches varies according to the slope of the 
hillside. When steep, the ditch, before turning, must be of greater length 
than where the ground is more level. (See diagram.) I use no gates, but 
bush the openings with coarse swale hay. I also bush the turning points of 
ditches as they are in permanent use throughout the season, and after the 
first few days' use require but little care to keep them in order. These 
ditches are torn up during the season of cultivation and have to be renewed 
every year. 

I use a level set on a frame 8.25 feet long and about 2.5 feet high (one 
leg longer than the other) to make any grade desired. Then I drag its 
length on the ground after getting the level, and can mark the line of ditch 
nearly half as fast as a man can walk. 

I have used many thousand feet of pipe in irrigating, but found it too 
expensive to be practicable, and it frequently gets clogged, causing much 
trouble. The zigzag method of taking the water down hills on the dry 
ridges, distributing to right and left, picking it up again in zigzag ditcher 
at the end of the rows or system, to be used again on lower ground, brings 
into use the largest quantity where it is most needed and utilizes it all with- 
out waste. 

Irrigating by Small Furrows. — It has already been suggested 
that recently the small furrow method of irrigation is undergoing 
certain modifications. The occasion for the change is that in certain 
of the heavier soils, particularly, the use of water in many shallow 
furrows followed by cultivation results in the formation of a compact 
layer, and this prevents the percolation of the water into the subsoil. 
This discovery led many Southern growers to resort to fewer and 
deeper furrows, and to new devices to enable the tree to get the 
benefit of the water. There has been wide use of the subsoil plow, 
with a wedge-shaped foot attached to a slim standard rising to the 
ordinary beam. The standard opposes its thin edge to the soil so as 
to cleave it v/ith the least difficulty, and the foot, passing through 
or beneath the hardpan, lifts and breaks it. The result of the sub- 
soiling is to open a way for the water to sink and spread below the 
hardpan. It is usual to run this plow once through the center of the 
interspace between the rows of trees, sometimes at right angles to 
the irrigation furrows. When this is done the water is admitted to 
the furrows as usual, but instead of flowing along smoothly it drops 
into the track of the subsoiler and runs there a long time before 
rising again to continue its course down the furrow. It is the ex- 
perience of some growers that the water has taken five or six days 
to reach the lower end of the furrows, a distance which would have 
been covered in twenty-four hours if the subsoiler had not inter- 
vened. This has been shown to result in much water for the subsoil 
and a notable invigoration of trees which had been famishing, 
although shallow-furrow irrigation had proceeded regularly. 

Changes in the furrow method at Riverside, California, are de- 
scribed by Mr. J. H. Reed as follows : 

The handling of the water in the orchard has materially changed in recent 
years. Instead of flooding up, basining, or using shallow furrows, deep 



IgQ CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

furrows, from 3 to 5 feet apart, are most generally used. In heavy adobe 
soils more furrows are used than in the more porous granite soils. The most 
usual length of furrows is 40 rods. Every precaution is taken to have the 
surface wetted as little as possible. 

The amount of water run at a time is materially lessened. Formerly the 
common practice was to run 3 inches per acre for twenty-four hours each 
thirty days. Now 2 incres continuous run for seventy-two hours is found to 
serve a much better purpose, except on loose soils. The general practice in 
the valley is to irrigate once each thirty days. A few of the most careful 
orchardists had found that by intelligent and thorough manipulation of the 
soil they obtained as favorable results from the application of water every 
sixty days or more, using the same amount as they formerly did at intervals 
of half that time. The writer has watched with much interest an eight-year- 
old orchard that during the three years preceding the present received in all 
but ten irrigations, the usual amount of water being used only at each four 
irrigations the first year and three irrigations each the second and third 
years, with results comparing favorably with those on trees of the same age 
on the same soil in neighboring orchards that received the ordinary thirty- 
day irrigations. While there are few orchardists who have the skill and 
patience required to secure such results, they show the possibilities of im- 
proved cultivation in conserving moisture. So long as water is abundant and 
not expensive, more frequent irrigations will probably be generally practiced: 
but the advantage of running the water for a longer time, in furrows as deep 
as possible, covering the saturated bottoms as soon as practicable and keep- 
ing the surface perfectly pulverized and in loose condition, is being generally 
recognized. 

The usual practice is now to have six deep furrows in 20-foot 
spaces. The number varies according to the character of the soil, 
but is in any case less than in the small, shallow furrow system 
which formerly prevailed. 

The recourse to deeper furrows and to the subsoil plowing has 
been made in several citrus fruit districts of Southern California. 
Its success depends upon conditions. There are cases in which too 
deep use of the subsoiler has admitted the water at a point too low 
for best results to the tree which grows on a leachy subsoil, and the 
cutting of roots by the subsoiler has in some cases brought shallow- 
rooting trees into temporary distress. The general conclusion, how- 
ever, is that deeper introduction of water favors deeper rooting and 
is very economical of water by preventing the loss by evaporation 
from the surface, which, theoretically, is dry, btit which actually, 
with shallow furrows over an irrigation hardpan, becomes too often 
saturated over nearly the whole space between the trees. 

Cement Pipes and Flumes for the Furrow System. — The use of 
cement in the construction of liumes, pipes and outlets for distribu- 
tion has advanced so rapidly during recent years that in nearly all 
districts local cement works can be found, at which irrigation struc- 
tures and appliances of latest design can be studied. Other devices 
are first described and afterwards regularly advertised in our horti- 
cultural journals. Analysis of them is beyond the scope of this 
treatise, but they are none the less important and all who contem- 
plate laying out irrigation systems, both large and small, should 
consider them carefully. It is the function of this work to deal 
chiefly with home-made appliances. 

The Board Flume and the Furrow System. — Although in the 
older regions the cement flume is advancing in popularity, important 



HOW TO MAKE BOARD FLUMES Jgl 

service will always be rendered by the home-made board flume 
where suitable lumber is cheap. A detailed account of its construc- 
tion and operation will be widely useful. The following is con- 
tributed to Mr. A. S. Bradford, of Orange county : 

I consider the board flume best, because it is in many places cheapest 
and because it will last fifteen or twenty years in California if made of good 
soft redwood. The common redwood lumber is generally so, but the so-called 
flume lumber is hard, generally, and will warp the flume out of shape. Even 
in the common redwood lumber hard pieces will be found, and these should 
be avoided. My first flume has been in use nine years and is apparently as 
good as ever. 

The first thing to be considered is getting a flume put in properly, as 
this alone will cause much trouble if not done right. A flume should run 
nearly on a level. It should be placed about two-thirds in the ground at the 
commencement, and as soon as it comes out of the ground to about two- 
thirds of its height, there should be a drop made of 1, 2, or 3 inches, is 
necessary, and then carried along as before, so as to keep the entire length 
of flume practically on a level. 

Sixteen-foot lumber is better than longer, as it is lighter to handle. I 
prefer 8-inch sides with 18-inch bottom, or, on some cases, 10-inch sides 
with 16-inch bottom. The first section, however, should be about 2 feet 
wide, narrowed to the size of the flume, so as to control the stream. Collars 
should be put around the flume every 8 feet of distance; that is, one in the 
center and one to cover the joints at each end. These collars should be 2 
by 3 inch stuff on the bottom and sides and 1 by three inches on top. This 
makes a strong, durable flume. The length of the flume should be divided 
so that the stream will decrease as it goes along. The width should be 
decreased also, say from 16 inches to 14, 12, 10 and 8 inches, the sides being 
the same throughout or reduced so as to have 10-inch sides on the 16-inch 
bottom and 8-inch sides on the rest, nailed to the side of the bottom, making 
7 inches depth inside. Two-inch holes should be about 30 inches apart and 
2-inch gates placed on the inside instead of outside, as they will collect less 
trash, the hole through the wood, if uncovered, making a lodgment for 
leaves, etc. In the narrow and flat flume it is much easier to {\x the gates. 

From 8 to 9 furrows for trees set 24 feet apart is sufficient. The streams 
should be run from one-eighth to one-half the capacity of the holes in the 
flume, according to the soil and fall of ground. I commence the stream 
small and increase it if necessary later on. The streams should be kept as 
near together as possible, and when the end is reached the gate should be 
nearly closed down, so as to allow the stream to just trickle to the end. In 
this manner the soil will become thoroughly wet from one end to the other. 
The streams should be run very slowly on most of our soils. A great many 
failures have been made on hard soils by running the stream too large and 
then reducing it. This seems to "slick" or cement the soil so that it will not 
take the water, and the consequence is a poor and unsatisfactory irrigation. 
On the other hand, if the streams are started small and allowed to soak 
the ground as they go along, it is simply astonishing how much water can 
be put in the ground. On sandy soils the streams should be larger. A little 
practice would give anyone the desired information. 

About three rows of trees at the lower end should be blocked up, pro- 
vided one has no place where the overflow water could be used. This last 
provision is the better, however, as there would be only about 10 inches of 
water run over the last three or four hours, and a thorough job would be 
done from one end to the other. 

In making furrows I have an extension made for my cultivator to bolt on 
each side and use four plows. With this extension I can wet the whole 
ground thoroughly. The furrows will extend under the limbs of the trees, 
and by making a slight curve around each tree the ground will become 
wet in the rows as well as between. 

As compared with the check system, the furrow method, properly handled, 
makes the soil light and loose, while the check system is apt to pack the 



132 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

soil, rendering it lifeless and leaving it so that it will not retain moisture 
long. Besides, the cost of ridging and extra labor in handling water in 
checks for one season will nearly pay for the flume, by which one man can 
do the irrigating. Two horses will furrow out 10 acres in half a day, and 
a little hand labor at the flume will connect the furrows. In the check 
system generally a disk is run first where the ridges are to be made, and 
then the ridger is run with four horses; then jump scraper is run to stop 
up one side of the blocks; then ditches must be made; then from 2 to 3 men 
are required to handle the water by shutting up the checks when filled. 
Afterwards the ridges must be plowed down before the ground can be har- 
rowed and got in condition to cultivate. At a glance one can see that it 
costs fully three times as much to irrigate by the check system as by the 
furrow system, and with the latter the soil acts more as it does after a rain. 



OVERHEAD IRRIGATION 

Although Californians have always been strongly impelled by 
the desire to get irrigation water away from contact with the air 
and into the soil as directly as possible, to escape losses by evapora- 
tion and to maintain a loose soil-surface, sprinkling methods have 
recently become matters of considerable expenditure. Such systems 
were installed in the orange orchards of Robert Baird of Porter- 
ville and R. D. Williams of Exeter. The former has overhead perfo- 
rated pipes supported on redwood posts ; the latter has underground 
pipes with a stand-pipe rising through the center of each fourth 
tree and surmounted with a revolving sprinkler. The cost of in- 
stallation at prices which prevailed before the war in each case was 
about $150 per acrce. The desirability of such sprinkling methods 
is still to be demonstrated. In both cases the water is forced into 
the pipes by pumps. 



DEVELOPMENT AND STORAGE OF WATER 

It is, obviously, beyond the limitations of this work to attempt 
an extended review of irrigation enterprises and practices. The 
enterprises undertaken by capitalists, or by co-operation among 
settlers, require the services of competent engineers. All these 
matters are too great in extent and variety to be discussed in this 
work. As, however, it has been the aim of the writer to aid the 
inexperienced planter to help himself in small efforts, a little space 
will be given to suggestions as how a planter may develop and 
use such small water supply as may be derived from spring, small 
creek or well, on his own land without employing an engineer. 

Running Lines for Irrigating Ditches. — How far to go up a 

creek in order to bring water out upon a given piece of land is a 
question which frequently arises in individual practice. There is 
also doubt as to how much fall should be given to the ditch. The 
fall required by a ditch or canal depends upon the amount of water 
which it is desired that it shall discharge, and upon the width and 
depth with which it is intended that the water should flow. It may 
also be dependent upon the character of the soil in which the ditch 
is to be constructed, and upon the peculiarities of the water itself. 



RUNNING LINES FOR DITCHES 



183 



A strong current in soft soil may cause mischievous erosions. Water 
carrying much sediment must never be allowed to move sluggishly, 
as clear water sometimes may. It is best to state the requirements 
to a competent engineer and act on his suggestion, or secure the 
counsel of a neighbor who has had experience with similar soil and 
water. 

Having decided what fall to give the ditch, the nearest point of 
which water can be taken out of the creek to be brought to a certain 
piece of land is found by commencing with the point at which the 
water is to be delivered (generally the highest point of the land to 
be irrigated), and running up stream a line which has the inclination 
intended for the ditch. 

To stake out this line when no special hindrances are in the way, 
use a home-made leveling instrument constructed as follows : 

With sound, stranght-edged lumber a triangle is made, as indicated in the 
sketch. The three pieces, A B, 10 feet long, B C, 12 feet long, and C A, 4 
feet long, are made fast to each other at A, B, and C. The board, A D is 
fastened to the triangle at right angles to B C near A on the board, A D, 
plumb-line is made fast. The plumb, like a mason's plumb, hangs in a hole 
at F, so that when A D is vertical, the string hangs very near the surface of 
the board, A D. 

It will be seen that when A D is exactly vertical, B C is exactly hori- 
zontal, if the angles at D are true right angles. An ordinary carpenter's 
square used in the construction of the apparatus will insure sufficient accuracy 
in the position of A D. 

In marking on the board, A D, however, the line in which the string of 
the plumb will hang when B C is exactly horizontal, more care is required. 
Two pegs are driven, as far apart as B and C, for these points to rest on. 
The highest one is driven into the ground until the plumb-line follows about 
the center line of the board, A D. Having marked this position of the plumb- 
line, the triangle is reversed so that the end B rests on the peg, where 
before we had the end C, and vice versa. Should the plumb-line be in a 
position at variance with the first one marked on the board, then the correct 
position for the B C horizontal will be exactly in the middle between the two 
found by the aid of the two pegs. 

It will frequently be found convenient to have a scale of feet marked off 
on B C. Holes in the pieces A B and C A at E E, or handles, will make the 
triangle convenient to carry. Only two men are necessary in using it. 



B 




A home-made leveling instrument. 



134 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

To use this instrument for locating the Hne of the ditch, calculate 
the amount which your line should rise between each two pegs. 
Drive a peg at the starting point with its top say six inches from 
the general surface of the ground. Hold one end of the leveling 
apparatus above this peg by exactly that amount which the line 
arises per each instrument length (B C), and swing the other end 
around into the direction from which the ditch is to come, until, 
when level, it is just six inches above the ground. Drive a peg here, 
which will, like the first, be six inches high, and proceed as before. 
Care should be taken to give the top of each peg exactly the correct 
elevation. The level must be horizontal when resting on any peg, 
and raised exactly that amount which the line rises per level length, 
above the preceding peg. It will be found convenient to use a care- 
fully prepared block to hold on the top of each stake at the rear end 
of the level instead of trusting to measurement each time. 

Locating Contour Lines for Checks or for Distributing Ditches. — 
This work can be done with the aid of the level above described. 
For instance, to locate a contour (a line of equal elevation), as re- 
quired in the construction of a check levee, drive a peg until its top 
has a convenient elevation from the ground, say one foot. Rest one 
end of the triangle on this peg and swing the other around until, 
when B C is horizontal, this other end has exactly the same elevation 
from the ground as the top of the peg. At this point drive a second 
peg and proceed as before. If the tops of the pegs be chosen as the 
height of the levee, they may be retained as grade stakes as well as 
line stakes for the embankment. 

Storing Water from Small Sources. — For individual uses quite 
a respectable water supply can sometimes be developed from ap- 
parently mean sources. This can be done by clearing out and 
opening up hillside springs, and often by tunneling into the hillside 
to intercept subterranean water-flows, or by pumping from a well. 
Even a small spring, yielding but two quarts per second, would be 
sufficient to irrigate several acres in fruit trees. To derive the 
greatest benefit from small springs, however, a reservoir is neces- 
sary, in which the flow of twelve to twenty-four hours, or even a 
longer period, can be accumulated, and then discharged as required. 
It is by using water in driblets that many springs are wasted. A 
spring supplying even one and a half inches of water would be 
wholly swallowed up by a thirsty soil v^athin two hundred feet of its 
source, when, by arresting the flow and accumulating it in a reser- 
voir and discharging at intervals in a volume four times as large, it 
would more than cover eight times the surface. A spring flowing 
two quarts per second will discharge forty-three thousand two 
hundred gallons in twenty-four hours. This would require a reser- 
voir forty by twenty feet, and seven feet deep, or double that width 
if the depth is decreased one-half. The shallower it can be made 
the better, for many reasons, but especially on account of the tem- 



AN IRRIGATION RESERVOIR Jg5 

perature of the water. That of springs is generally too low in sum- 
mer for immediate use, and its value is greatly enhanced by being 
raised to an equal or greater temperature than that of the air. This 
is quickly done by exposure in a shallow pond. A reservoir can be 
constructed entirely in the ground where the slope will admit of it, 
and by lining the bottom and sides with clay well puddled, will 
answer for most purposes. Some are built of adobe, backed with 
earth and plastered on the inner side with hydraulic cement. Con- 
crete of lime, sand, and broken stone is, however, the best material, 
where lime can be readily obtained, and any person with ordinarv 
mechanical skill can construct them. The following hints on a dirt 
reservoir may be suggestive : 

A reservoir should be built on the highest part of the tract sought to be 
irrigated by scraping the earth from the outside and from such a large area 
as not to affect the utility of the land from which it is taken. With a levee 
all around 5 feet high, 5 feet of vk^ater could be carried safely. The slopes 
ought to be two to one on the inside. A reservoir 20 feet square and 4 feet 
deep would hold 12,000 gallons. With the slopes as above the reservoir 
should be measured two feet from the bottom, or half way up the 4 feet of 
water; consequently, to lay out a reservoir to hold 12,000 gallons, put the 
stakes 12 feet square and build. For any other size one take 8 feet off the 
same as this: A reservoir 25 feet square will hold 18,750 gallons and would 
be 17 feet square at the bottom; one 30 feet square would hold 27,000 
gallons and would be 22 feet at the bottom; one 35 feet square — 27 at the 
bottom — will hold 36,000 gallons; one 40 feet square — 32 on the bottom — will 
hold 48,000 gallons. This spread upon the surface of an acre would be a 
little more than 1^ inches of rainfall. 

Almost any loam or soil will hold water with a little puddling. The 
cheapest way to puddle is to build a pen the size of the entended reservoir, 
including at least a portion of that to be under the embankment, wet it very 
wet, put some hogs in the pen and keep feeding them barley, a little at a 
time, so as to make them not only walk around, but root for the barley. A 
half-sack of barley fed to eight or ten hungry hogs in half a day will make 
a good puddle. If it did not work satisfactorily, the water could be taken 
off and the bottom covered about an inch deep with coarse sand mixed one 
part to five with Portland cement, put in dry, and let it be covered slowly. 
A barrel of cement may be counted at about 4 cubic feet and with the mix- 
ture above would cover the first-named reservoir about 1)4 inches. This 
would make it tight. The supply pipe should come up from the bottom, so 
that the lift would never be more than the height of the surface. 

Loss of Water by Seepage. — The great loss of water by seepage 
during a long run has led to the cementing of ditches, and to the use 
of miles of large wooden, concrete and iron pipe by the irrigation 
companies of Southern California; also, where the slope is rapid, 
paving ditches with rock has been resorted to. Similar efforts 
naturally suggest themselves to the user of a small supply to save 
his flow from loss. The lining of ditches to prevent seepage were 
tested by the California Experiment Station at Berkeley, and publi- 
cation of results were made.* Where lumber is cheap the use of a 
board flume is an available means of saving water, when the soilis 
coarse and leachy. 



*BuIletin 188 and Circular 144. University of California Experiment Station. Berkelev. 



135 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Irrigation from Flowing Wells. — A considerable area of orchard 
is irrigated from flowing wells in different parts of the State. Nearly 
everywhere in the artesian districts there are local well-borers who 
have kept records of the strata traversed in their work, and can 
estimate closely the cost of securing water by this method. 

Lifting Water from Flowing Ditch or Stream. — Where a stream 
has a rapidity of two miles or more per hour, and a lift to a height 
of six to sixteen feet will give head enough to distance the water 
over a considerable area, there is nothing cheaper than the current 
wheel which is largely used alongside streams in this State. The 
engraving gives an end view of such a wheel. Eight pairs of arms, 
carrying flat buckets like those of a steamboat paddle-wheel, extend 
from a hub rotating on metal bearings. At either end, or both 
ends, of each bucket are fixed wooden or tin water boxes which fill 










End view of irrigating wheel. 



themselves on entering the water, and on being brought to the 
highest point of rotation empty themselves into a receiving trough. 
This trough supplies the distributing ditches, etc., and its inner end 
is so placed that it comes under the projecting buckets of the wheel 
without interference with the motion of the arms. The current of 
water in the channel underneath forces the buckets down stream, 
the latter delivering in the opposite direction at the top. By using 
a double set of boxes, one at each end of each bucket, the water 
may be delivered on both sides simultaneously. A little experi- 
menting will indicate the proper size boxes, which depends upon 
the velocity and volume of water in the channel, as well as to the 
amount to be delivered. Since, however, electric and distillate 
motors have become common, ruder devices have been largely 
displaced, though, under certain conditions, still serviceable. 



WATER MEASUREMENT lg7 

PUMPING FOR IRRIGATION 

The use of pumps for irrigation is continually increasing. The 
capacity of pumps, their ease and cheapness of operation in this land 
of oil wells and ponderous waterfalls whose power can be trans- 
formed into electric energy, warrant the conclusion that in many 
places water can be lifted from below more cheaply than it can be 
brought long distances by ditch ; and that the supply is more con- 
stant and subject to the users' command and convenience. In all 
parts of the State well-boring and digging and pump construction 
have advanced very rapidly. Pumping plants of all capacities, from 
the greatest of the gasoline class, lifting five thousand gallons per 
minute from a depth of twenty-five feet, down to the plant with a 
throw of three hundred gallons per minute, all styles of motors and 
pumps are being constantly multiplied. These plants are being 
placed upon wells in the orchard or in the vicinity, or upon adjacent 
streams or ponds. Many new designs by California inventors are 
coming into use. It would require a volume to contain any adequate 
account of California's recent progress in these lines. Economic 
pumping is governed by so many considerations that no general 
statement would be conclusive in any specific case. Each orchardist 
must ascertain his own conditions and then confer with trustworthy 
manufacturers or their agents as to what will meet his require- 
ments.* 

WATER MEASUREMENT 

The Miner's Inch. — Although the miner's inch, as commonly 
measured, is open to objection because of inaccuracy, from an engi- 
neer's point of view, it is so easily applied that it must remain a 
popular recourse. It consists in causing the water to flow through 
an opening, the capacity of which is known, and which is readily 
capable of adjustment to the flow in any case. A simple form of this 
device and its use is shown in the illustration, which represents a 
board 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide, and about 8 feet long. The open- 
ing is 1 inch wide and 50 inches long, and the distance from the top 
of the board to the center of the opening is exactly 4 inches on the 
up-stream side. On the down-stream side the opening is beveled so 
that the hole presents sharp edges to the stream. A sliding board is 
hung upon the top of the first board, with a strip screwed along its 
upper edge, this sliding board being wide enough to cover the open- 
ing on the up-stream side. In the slot there is a closely-fitting block, 
made to slide on the beveled edges and fastened by a screw to the 
sliding board. It is obvious, then, that when the sliding board is 
moved backward or forward, by means of its end, which is extended 
for a handle, the block moves in the slot and determines the length 
of the opening. 

In operation the board is placed in the stream as shown in the 
figure, so as to dam the flow completely, and the sliding board is 

*FuU details of the cost and flow from pumps drawing from various depths and operated 
by various motors are given in the publications of the Irrigation Investigations to which 
reference has previously been made. Also, Circular 117, California Experiment Station; 
"The Selection and Cost of a Small Pumping Plant," by B. A. Etcheverry. 



188 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



moved backward and forward until the water is all passing through 
the slot, the water being kept up to the top of the board, or 4 inches 
above the center of the opening. The length of the opening measures 
the number of miner's inches of water flowing through. If the flow 
is too great to pass through the opening 1 inch wide, the opening 
may be made wider, the water still to be kept 4 inches above the 
center of the opening. The laws of several States provide that in 
devices for measuring water for sale by the miner's inch the opening 
shall be 6 inches high and shall be provided with a slide as shown 
in the picture. The number of miner's inches then discharged is 
equal to the number of square inches in the opening. The assump- 
tion made that the discharge is proportional to the size of the open- 
ing is not true, but the error in measuring small quantities is not 
great enough to be taken into consideration. By converting the 
results of measurements in miner's inches to gallons, cubic feet, or 
some other familiar unit, it may be determined how long it will take 




^^^K-^-. 






^:2^ ^^^^^'S^^g 



Measuring miner's inches in a small stream or ditch 









the stream to fill a reservoir or cover a given field with the neces- 
sary depth of water. This unit is readily convertible into cubic feet 
or gallons or acre-inches of water, according to the time the 
water flows. 

The following data will be helpful in computations : One miner's 
inch, as described above, equals 0.1496 gallons per second, 8,976 gal- 
lons per minute, 538.56 gallons per hour, 12,925.44 gallons per day ; 
0.02 cubic feet per second, 1.2 cubic feet per minute, 72 cubic feet 
per hour. One acre-inch of water (that is, 1 inch in depth over an 
acre of surface) equals 27,152 gallons, or 3,630 cubic feet, and 1 
miner's inch will supply this quantity in about 50.4 hours. Thus a 
simple calculation shows that a little stream of 5 miner's inches will 
supply enough water to cover an acre 2.3 inches deep in about 23 
hours — a fair amount for one irrigation of soil of average character 
if it has not been allowed to become too dry before the application. 
In fact, this is an average amount actually used for an irrigation of 
shallow-rooted i^lants like most field and garden crops. 



IRRIGATION SUGGESTIONS JgQ 

Weir Measurement. — The term "weir" is not always understood 
by those who use it. The term can properly be used only for struc- 
tures designed to allow the water to flow over the crest with a con- 
siderable fall on the down-stream side. There are a large number of 
forms of weirs, taking their names from the shape of the weir notch, 
or the form of crest. The triangular weir has a V-shaped notch. 
The rectangular weir has a horizontal crest with vertical sides. Both 
of these forms of weir are good, when used by the expert irrigator 
or engineer who understands the principles and factors which enter 
into their calculations. Water measurement as practiced by irriga- 
tion companies is, however, rather more a question of engineering 
than of fruit growing and cannot be pursued in this connection. 
Several publications on the subject are readily available.* 

DANGER OF ALKALI IN IRRIGATION WATER 

Every since Prof. Hilgard's original observations on alkali were 
published, Californians have been aware of the danger of using 
waters containing alkali for irrigation purposes, but they have not 
realized, until recently, of how much significance this is. Investiga- 
tions and observations made by the California Agricultural Experi- 
ment Station show that many of the well waters used for irrigation 
purposes in orchards contain so much alkali, usually including 
common salt, that though beginning with a soil free from alkali, one 
can readily impregnate it with salts enough in a few years to ruin 
an orchard. The investigations emphasize further some general 
alkali problems in orchards, even where fairly good waters have 
been used, and render the alkali question one of the most important 
in soil management problems in arid parts of California. The fruit 
planter should never plan to use water from any source for irriga- 
tion without having proper samples analyzed and the analysis inter- 
preted.! River and stream waters are usually found to be purer 
and better than well waters in the citrus districts, in which the 
investigations cited were carried out. Nevertheless, recourse to 
analysis is always a safe guide. 

RANDOM SUGGESTIONS 

Without attempting an impossible thing, to-wit, to furnish ex- 
plicit directions for the practice of irrigation, for much of it every 
man must learn for himself by experience, a few suggestions may 
be noted. 

Usually water should be prevented from actual contact with the 
trunk of the tree. Citrus trees are especially sensitive to such con- 
tact, and resent it by "gum disease," which was formerly far more 

*Bulletin 247 of the California Experiment Station on "Some MeasurinR Devices Used 
in the Delivery of Irrigation Water" (Jan., 1915): "Farmers' " Bulletin 813, U. S. Dept. 
Agr., on "Construction and Use of Farm Weirs" (June, 1917): Circular 36, Utah Experi- 
ment Station, Logan, Utah, on "Practical Information on the Measurement of Irrigation 
Water" (January, 1919). 

tThe ill effects of irrigating with alkaline water are strikingly set forth by W. P. Kelly 
and E. E. Thomas in Bulletin 318 and Circular 219 of the University of California, Berkeley 
1920. 



290 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

prevalent in the State than now. Care must, therefore, be taken not 
to set trees which are to be irrigated too low. It is better to raise 
them up a little and draw the earth around them to prevent ap- 
proach of the water, but this must not be overdone. 

If possible, the ditch should be run on the shady side of the tree, 
because reflected sunshine from the water surface may burn the 
bark. 

In examining soil to ascertain dryness, one must dig or bore 
deeply, for often an upper layer will be fairly moist, if well culti- 
vated, while lower layers, where the feeding rootlets are, will be 
arid. Therefore, when trees or vines are suffering, go far down in 
examining the soil. 

In irrigating, thorough, deep soaking is necessary, and examina- 
tion must be made to see if an artificial hardpan which prevents 
the descent of the water has been formed. 

Be careful not to continue irrigation too late in the season. It 
will prevent the proper dormancy of deciduous trees, and if more 
fall irrigation is given citrus trees than they need for perfecting the 
fruit, the trees will continue growing tender shoots until they are 
injured by severe frosts. On the other hand, it is often desirable to 
give deciduous trees a draft of water after the fruit has been gath- 
ered, if the soil is so dry that the tree is likely to drop its leaves 
too soon, and wake from its dormancy with the first rains. Many 
times the fall blooming of deciduous trees, which is very undesir- 
able, may be prevented by keeping them growing later in the 
summer by moderate irrigation. 

If trees or vines, in regions usually irrigated, are to be grown 
without irrigation, it is important that the grower be more than 
usually thorough and constant with his summer cultivation. In 
trying the non-irrigation experiment, one should, of course, begin 
with young trees which have not been irrigated, and not usually 
expect success by withdrawing the water from trees which have 
been accustomed to it, and have developed a root system accord- 
ingly. 

While waiting for an "irrigating system," young trees can be 
kept going with a water wagon. With a galvanized tank on a wagon 
three men went over a 60-acre orchard three times, taking four days 
for each irrigation. One man went ahead to scoop out around each 
tree, and after the water was put on he covered it up, to keep the 
soil loose and prevent loss by evaporation. He could keep ahead 
because of the loss of time of the team going after water and return- 
ing. From the tank ran two large hose, the water being siphoned 
off at the basin near each tree till about four or five gallons of water 
were put on. Then the hose was bent back so the water could not 
flow out, and they advanced to the next tree. 

SUB-IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

The word "sub-irrigated" is freely used in California to describe 
land which is moistened below by underflow or seepage from 
streams or springs, or from open irrigation ditches, traversing 



DRAINAGE IN CALIFORNIA 191 

higher levels. This land is sub-irrigated, it is true, but there is no 
system about it, except the natural distribution of water, which is 
to seek its level. Some of our most productive lands are of this 
character, and where the soil and subsoil are fitted to the movement 
of this living water, and not apt to retain it up to the point of sat- 
uration, satisfactory growth of deep-rooting field crops and of trees 
and vines are secured. But this is not sub-irrigation in the ordinary 
signification of the term. 

Several systems of sub-irrigation by subterranean pipes have 
been devised by California inventors, but none have passed beyond 
the experimental stage, and no acreage has been continually op- 
erated. This, of course, has no reference to carrying water in sub- 
terranean pipes to outlets for surface distribution. Such distribution 
systems are largely used. 

DRAINAGE IN CALIFORNIA 

There was for a long time a very erroneous popular generaliza- 
tion that California soils do not need drainage ; that in a dry state 
the aim should be to retain the moisture, not to part with it. It is, 
of course, true that we have vast areas of naturally well-drained 
soil, upon which any money spent for drainage would be in a great 
part thrown away, but we have, also, both in the valley and on the 
hillsides, localities where, by peculiar character and conformation 
of the subsoil, water is held in the soil until evaporated from the 
surface, and the result is a boggy, miry condition, which prevents 
proper winter cultivation, and at the same time injures the roots of 
the trees or vines. This defective cultivation, added to the puddling 
effect of standing water, makes the soil dry out completely under 
the fervid sun of summer, and the result is that the wettest soil of 
the winter may be the driest in the summer, and plants which are in- 
jured by soaking in winter suffer again from lack of moisture and 
sustenance in summer. Thus it is a fact, clearly proven by observa- 
tion and experience, that thorough under-drainage removes surplus 
water in winter, and ministers to the retention of moisture in sum- 
mer. More than this, a soil puddled by standing water can not 
present its contents in available form for plant nutrition, and be- 
sides, it loses the fertilizing effects of atmospheric currents, which 
pass through an open, well-dried soil. Wet land is cold and late in 
spring, and hot as a baked brick under the summer sun ; it is no 
fiction of the imagination to say that well drained land is warm in 
winter and cool in summer — that is, cool to a degree which favors 
quick and free root growth, and cool enough to escape the parching 
effect of deeply baked soil. 

These, and a host of similar considerations, which have made 
under-drainage popular in older countries, are of weight in Cali- 
fornia. Possibly, as a rule, because of our vast area of deep, kind 
loams, the proportion of land needing drainage in this State is less 
than elsewhere, and yet there is a vast extent of country to be im- 
proved by tiling. There have been large losses of trees from plant- 
ing upon soils defective in this respect. The evil has resulted from 



192 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



excessive rainfall and excessive irrigation, either direct or by under- 
flow from adjacent irrigations. In some places this latter movement 
of water has brought alkali to assist in the ruin of the trees and 
vines. The cure is drainage to sufficient depth and with good outlet 
for the drainage water. 

Information on the construction of under-drains is too available 
through other sources to call for its presentation in this connection.* 

Drainage and Irrigation. — A special importance attaches to com- 
plete and systematic drainage in connection with irrigation. There 
is pressing need of such provision where the soil has become over- 
loaded b}^ seepage water from irrigation ditches, and it is well that 
people in such situations are waking up to the need of coupling 
drainage outlets wath their irrigation inlets. Another matter closely 
allied to this is the action of alkali on soils thus artificially water- 
soaked. This has been made the subject of a special publication, to 
which allusion has already been made in Chapter III. Drainage is 
plainly essential, both in individual farms and in districts where the 
water level is rising too high, and the striking statements given 
below by Professor Hilgard should incite all to give immediate at- 
tention to the needs of vines and trees in this regard : 

In the valleys and plains of the arid irrigation countries the soils are pre- 
dominantly of a light, sandy or silty nature, easily penetrated to great depths 
by water and air. With these the roots of plants also reach to such depths, 
drawing therefrom not only moisture, but also plant food, which in these 
soils is, as a rule, very abundant. The plants of the arid region thus are 
enabled to utilize nearly as many feet of soil mass as in the regions of 
summer rains inches would be drawn upon; and it is evident that this advan- 
tage, which postpones for a long time the need of fertilization, should not 
be lightly thrown away. Each farm in the arid region has several similar 
ones underground, which with proper management can be fully utilized. 

But this presupposes that the water, air and roots can all penetrate under 
irrigated culture as they do in the natural condition. It means that the 
ground water level shall not be allowed to rise to such an extent as to pre- 
vent the penetration and healthy life of the roots in the depths of the soil 
mass. If by intentional or careless over-irrigation, or by the leakage from 
the ditches, the water level is allowed to rise within a few feet of the sur- 
face, the wonderfully productive lands of the arid valleys are reduced to 
the same condition as are those of the humid countries; a shallow layer 
of surface soil, within which alone the roots can exercise their functions 
of plant nutrition. The natural result is that this layer soon beconles ex- 
hausted, and copious artificial fertilization is required to maintain prolific 
production. 

And even this is the most favorable case. When, in addition, the upward 
movement of the soil water carries with it the entire mass of salts of various 
kinds which exist in all arid soils, and brings them within reach of surface 
evaporation, these "alkali" salts impregnate the soil to such an extent as to 
render the cultivation of many crops unprofitable, or sometimes altogether 
impossible. 

Summarizing the advantages of systematic land draining it may be said 
that: 

1. It prevents the drowning out of the deeper roots of plants by the rise 
or fluctuations of the ground water, by which the vineyards and orchards are 
so frequently rendered unprofitable. 



*"Farm Drainage Methods" by W. W. Weir, Circular 174 of University of California 
Experiment Station, Berkeley, Calif. 



DANGER IN STANDING WATER I93 

2. It prevents, or at least limits definitely, the shallowing of the soil 
caused by high-lying ground water, resulting in the need of early and 
copious fertilization, which would otherwise not have been called for in many 
years. The annual cost of such fertilization would soon exceed the first cost 
of drainage. 

3. Drainage does away definitely with the alkali evil. When drainage is 
established the land can easily be so handled as either to remove all the 
alkali, or to leave in the soil so much of it as may be rationally considered 
beneficial, on account of its usual content of valuable and highly available 
plant food. To prevent the waste of much of this soluble plant food, the use 
of gypsum is also valuable; but subsequent swamping of the land would 
cause a return of the black alkali unless drainage were provided for. 

In view of the facts that water-logged lands are still being sold 
to the unwary for fruit planting; that sometimes lands are oflfered 
with the attractive promise of an irrigation supply when they 
actually need a drainage system ; that on such lands every year of 
large rainfall brings areas of trees into distress and inflicts consider- 
able losses, these declarations of Professor Hilgard should be most 
carefully kept in mind. The only item of his declaration which 
later researches question is the feasibility of "drainage doing away 
definitely with the alkali question," because difficulties have arisen 
in the effort to make drainage do it, when the alkali is in its worst 
form and in very large amount — as explained in the publications 
cited in the footnote on page .... That problem seems to be still 
pending solution. 



PART THREE : ORCHARD FRUITS 



CHAPTER XVI 



COMMERCIAL FRUIT VARIETIES 

What fruit to plant, or what kind of a bearing orchard to buy as 
an investment, are questions which can not be answered, in this 
treatise. The planters on new land and the investors in improved 
land must answer them for themselves — forming their judgments 
after securing facts which seem to them a proper basis for such a 
business decision. It is the conviction of the writer that all fruits 
which have demonstrated commercial suitability in California, when 
properly placed under the soil, temperature and moisture conditions 
which favor their best growth and productiveness, may be counted 
as yielding nearly equal net returns, considering the investment in 
land, water, waiting for bearing and handling of the product. So 
far as the writer has observed, all our commercial fruits have reached 
maximum and minimum returns during the last quarter of a century 
which are practically identical. Therefore to plant good fruit in the 
best place for it, to handle the trees and products most intelligently, 
both in production and marketing, holds out substantially equal 
promise of profit. If it could be demonstrated that any particular 
fruit had the especial advantage over others in net returns, this 
advantage would immediately disappear because planters would 
rush to it and take away this advantage by undue increase of its 
acreage. Therefore the choice of fruits must remain an open ques- 
tion for each one to determine by his own experience and observa- 
tion, at least to the extent of determining his own line of production. 

It is one of the purposes of this treatise, as they will be disclosed 
in succeeding chapters, to impress upon the local planters the con- 
viction that their clearest path toward satisfactory income lies in 
choosing varieties which have demonstrated two fundamental char- 
acters, viz. : adaptation to the locality and to the uses of the fruit 
trade — rather than in choosing novelties, no matter how alluring 
they may be. 

It may surprise the casual reader to find that our production 
proceeds so largely upon old standard varieties. Anyone, however, 
who is acquainted with commercial fruit growing knows that it is 
neither wise nor easy to revolutionize an established and profitable 
industry by the substitution of new varieties for the old standards. 
It takes several years to determine whether a new variety is really 
trustworthy and suitable, and it takes much longer to get a large 
acreage in bearing either by grafting or new planting because 
people are slow and conservative in making changes. As the period 
of trial of each novelty passes, however, new varieties are accepted. 



WHY FEW VARIETIES ARE GROWN 195 

if for any good reason found suitable, and become prominent as 
their merits justify. 

Another reason why new varieties do not figure more largely in 
California fruit growing is the smallness of the amateur interest. 
There is, in fact, almost an absence of pure amateurs — enthusiastic, 
critical, discriminating, athirst for novelties. Even suburban plant- 
ers follow the lead of commercial orchardists and plant chiefly that 
which has shown adaptations to local growing conditions, and few 
are averse to making what they can by sale of small surpluses. The 
result is that California fruit growing is almost wholly commercial 
in spirit, policy and point of view, which is perhaps only natural in 
a state where the fruit crops yield the growers an annual aggregate 
value of something like two hundred and fifty millions of dollars. 
The effect is to concentrate attention upon varieties which have 
achieved fame for profit, and to repress amateur devotion and in- 
dulgence. 

At the same time there is, and has always been, quite a disposi- 
tion toward trial of novelties among commercial growers, especially 
manifested in search of specific characters which are seen to be 
desirable rather than desire for newness for its own sake, which is 
often a point of pride among amateurs. To this enterprising and 
discriminating search is due the prominence of some of the leading 
varieties, which were chance seedlings recognized as meeting special 
requirements and having grown great because they really did so. 
The California grower is, therefore, quite certain that he needs not 
varieties new throughout and of startling characters, but improved 
varieties which hold the good points of the old and add other points. 
For instance, he calls for trees resistant to disease, for improvement 
of the fruit in beauty, flavor and keeping qualities ; for varieties, 
similar in kind, which fill gaps in the ripening season so that he can 
employ help continuously, and shippers and canners agree with him 
so that they can keep the cars moving and the cannery plants at 
work. The grower says he must be careful not to plant something 
different from what is already growing and selling well in his region, 
and this is also the advice of the trade to him. He can not risk 
much on varieties of entirely different types, although most growers 
are always doing a little experimenting. Nor should he undertake 
too many varieties, because a profitable orchard is not a pomolog- 
ical museum. There must be a large quantity of uniform fruit to 
make any district commercially prominent. 

For these reasons the number of varieties now planted is but a 
fraction of what it was a third of a century ago, and, stopping at 
this point, one might get the idea of the California grower as a 
monument of conservatism and lacking in enterprise and adventure. 
The fact is that he has very definite ideas of the suitability and 
desirability of the varieties which he chooses for planting. From 
the beginning, California growers and nurserymen have exercised 
painstaking discrimination and selection to secure varieties which 
best served particular purposes, and in 1920 they co-operated in 
organizing a Bud Selection Association in order that commercial 
propagation might be more widely and systematically directed 



196 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



toward increased production of varieties of most serviceable types 
of the different fruits and the most productive trees of such types, 
by propagating only from the best trees, which were determined 
and designated for that purpose. 

It should therefore be noted by the reader that the preference 
for certain varieties, which is embodied in this statement, which 
will close this chapter, does not involve pomological standards as a 
leading factor. The claim is distinctly not made that these varieties 
are chosen exclusively on the basis of quality, beauty, hardiness or 
health. In the case of nearly all the fruits, there are other varieties 
which might equal or even surpass them in one or more of these 
respects. The choice is made because they are most profitable to 
grow ; not alone because they are good, but because they are good 
for something. This particular suitability or serviceability may 
involve pomological considerations and commercial and manufac- 
turing considerations as well. The planter must use these lists in 
connection with what he may find about the varieties in subsequent 
chapters, without neglecting to confer with older growers, in the 
district in which he may plan to plant, as to what varieties produce 
best and are in best demand in the business of his district. 

Perhaps an intelligent use of the statement can be concretely 
suggested by briefly discussing the first group of varieties men- 
tioned — the apples most approved in California. First comes the 
yellow Newtown Pippin, and that means that most apples commer- 
cially grown are winter apples and this variety is, on the whole, the 
most profitable of them. But a planter in a hot interior valley 
should usually reject them, for all winter apples are apt to be un- 
satisfactory, and, if he plants apples at all, should choose early 
varieties, because they ripen early, thus escaping the highest heat 
and at the same time being ready for the early market. Similar 
comments might be made upon the varieties of other fruits. 

During the year 1921 the writer made a careful review of the 
experience of growers and propagators to determine which fruit 
varieties were considered most satisfactory in commercial planta- 
tions in California, using as a basis of revision the decisions reached 
at several conferences of fruit growers, nurserymen, and managers 
of fruit canneries, drying establishments and those engaged in 
long-distance shipment of fresh fruits. In the chapters devoted to 
different fruits the decisions of the conferences will be given in 
more detail. 

The varieties grouped below are not arranged according to ripen- 
ing season. Such data will be given in following chapters : 

Apples. — Newtown Pippin, Bellflower, E. Spitzenburg, W. W. 
Pearmain, Gravenstein, Red Astracan, W. Astracan, Carolina Red 
June, Skinner, R. I. Greening, Alexander, Rome Beauty, Jonathan, 
Winesap, Stayman, Winter Banana, Grimes, Delicious, King David, 
Arkansas Black, Baldwin. 

Apricots. — Royal, Blenheim, Tilton, Hemskirk, Peach, Newcas- 
tle, Moorpark. 



FRUIT VARIETIES CHIEFLY GROWN -[gy 

Cherries. — Royal Ann, Black Tartarian, Bing, Black Oregon, 
Gov. Wood, Lambert, Chapman, Burbank, Montmorency, Purple 
Guigne, May Duke, Centennial, Black Bigarreau. 

Free-Stone Peaches. — Muir, Lovell, Elberta, Salway, Mayflower, 
Alexander, Hale's Early, Triumph, St. John, Early Crawford, 
Wheatland, Morris White, Strawberry, Decker, Early Elberta, J. 
H. Hale. 

Cling-Stone Peaches. — Phillips, Tuscan, Pedora, Peaks, Al- 
bright, Levi, Sim's, Libbee, Albright, McDevitt, Hauss. 

Pears. — Bartlett, Winter Nelis, Easter, Du Comice, Glout Mor- 
ceau, D'Anjou, Hardy, Barry, Lawson, Seckel, Winter Bartlett, 
Wilder, Bosc, Clairgeau, Forelle, Flemish Beauty. 

Plums. — Climax, Beauty, Hungarian, Tragedy, Wickson, Bur- 
bank, Kelsey, Yellow Egg, Red June, Giant, Washington, Jefferson, 
Bavay's, Gaviota, Damson, Grand Duke, California Blue, President, 
Santa Rosa Satsuma, Duarte. 

Prunes. — French, Imperial, Sugar, Robe de Sergeant, Silver. 

Raisin and Shipping Grapes. — Muscat, Tokay, Thompson, Em- 
peror, Malaga, Cornichon, Black Prince, Black Morocco, Sultana, 
Sweet Water, Gros Colman, Verdal, Pierce, Concord. 

Figs. — White Adriatic, Calimyrna (Smyrna), Mission, Kadota 
(White Endrich), Brown Turkey, White San Pedro. 

Almonds. — Nonpareil, IX L, Ne Plus Ultra, Drake, Texas Pro- 
lific, Peerless. 

Walnut. — Franquette, Mayette, Concord, Eureka, Placentia, 
Santa Barbara Softshell. 

Orange. — Washington Navel, Valencia, Mediterranean Sweet, 
Paper Rind St. Michael, Ruby Blood. 

Lemon. — Eureka, Lisbon, Villa Franca. 

Pomelo. — Marsh. 

Olives. — Mission, Manzanillo, Sevillano, Ascolano. 

Blackberries. — Mammoth, Lawton, Logan, Himalaya, Crandalls. 

Raspberries. — Cuthbert. 

Strawberries. — Melinda, Banner, Nick Ohmer, Klondyke, Dollar, 
Brandywine, Jessie, Arizona, Marshall. 

This compilation indicates the popularity of varieties in the 
State as a whole. It should be taken as a guide to planting in any 
particular district only as it may be revised, for local adaptations 
and special purposes, by the fuller data for each kind of fruit in the 
specia^l chapter which will be devoted to it. In these chapters other 
varieties will also be enumerated — including those now considered 
exceptionally promising and likely to displace some varieties which 
appear in the foregoing category. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE APPLE 

During the last decade notable progress has been made in apple 
growing in California. The old idea that our conditions did not 
favor excellence in the apple has given away to full assurance that 
in wisely selected elevations and exposures the very highest points 
of size, beauty, flavor, keeping and shipping qualities are secured. 
Even before the wonderfully satisfactory test of both Northern and 
Southern California apples at the New Orleans World's Fair, it was 
clear that the right variety grown in the right place yields an apple 
in California than which a better can not be grown anywhere, and 
during the last decade California early apples have been in sharp 
request for shipment to all regions of the Northwest and British 
Columbia, and California winter apples have been sold at the high- 
est prices east of the Rocky Mountains and in Europe. 

Because of her achievements with other fruits California's stand- 
ing in apple production is not usually considered. By the U. S. 
Census of 1910, California ranked ninth among apple growing states 
of the country. The crop of 1919, as reported by the U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, advanced the State to fourth place, with a 
product of 8,640,000 bushels. The Pacific Coast leads the country 
in apples. The largest producing state is Washington and the 
fourth California ; the combined product of these two states being 
5,000,000 bushels greater than that of New York and Virginia, 
which rank second and third, respectively. The relative planting 
and product-value of apples to other California fruits is shown in 
Chapter VI. 

Localities for Apples. — Speaking generally, it may be laid down 
that the great valleys of the interior are not well suited to the apple ; 
also, there are some situations which are much better than others. 
In the early regions of the Sacramento Valley and foothills, how- 
ever, excellent early apples are profitably produced. In the great 
valley and lower foothill region of the State, the late apple usually 
lacks character and keeping quality. On the great plains the tree 
is liable to sunburn, or sun blight, as it is called. Some varieties, 
because of the character of their foliage, are less liable to this injury 
than others, and it is possible that this evil may be finally overcome 
by the selection of varieties with blight-proof foliage, as will be 
mentioned later. In the great valley, however, on the rich river- 
bottom land of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin and its tribu- 
taries, the apple roots deeply, attains good size, bears good fruit, 
with fair keeping quality, while but a few miles away on the plains 
it is inferior. On these deep, rich river-bank lands excellent early 
apples are produced. 

In the interior, adaptation to the late, long-keeping apple lies at 
an elevation on the foothills on both the east and west rims of the 
great valley. Its limits are not well defined, but there are flourish- 



WHERE CALIFORNIA APPLES GROW 199 

ing orchards at an elevation of about four thousand five hundred 
feet on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and from two 
thousand to three thousand five hundred feet is commonly regarded 
the best apple region of the mountains. The trees attain larger 
size and bear heavily, and the fruit, of well-adapted varieties, is 
large, crisp, juicy and has exceptional keeping qualities. This 
district, which is practically as long as the State, is still awaiting 
development in commercial apple production. 

Along the coast the apple succeeds well from end to end of the 
State, and very close to the ocean excellent fruit is produced on 
good soil — usually without irrigation but sometimes advantaged by 
it. In this coast region are situated the chief commercial apple 
districts of the State. Named in the order of their acreage in 1920 
they are as follows : Santa Cruz and Monterey counties (Watson- 
ville district) ; Sonoma (Sebastopol district) ; Lake Mendocino and 
Humboldt counties (Upper Coast district). As the coast is not 
an early region, the product is almost exclusively fall and winter 
apples. 

There is a certain advantage in elevation in the coast region as 
well as in the interior, but the advantage is not so marked nor is the 
required elevation so great. Coast valleys in the central and upper 
portion of the State, where the soil is suitable, produce most excel- 
lent apples, but even here the lower hillsides, with deep, well- 
drained soils, are, perhaps, preferable to the floors of the valley. 
Departing from immediate coast influences and approaching the 
interior, with its greater heat and aridity, the greater elevation 
becomes desirable. The apple, excepting the very early varieties, 
does not relish the forcing heat which brings such perfection to the 
peach, but to insure late ripening and long keeping, with accom- 
panying crispness, juiciness, and flavor, it must have atmospheric 
surroundings which favor slower development. 

Localities for apple growing in Southern CaHfornia are to be 
chosen with much the same rules as in the upper part of the State. 
As has already been said, valleys in which coast conditions largely 
predominate produce good apples, on suitable soils, but away from 
the coast, proper elevations must be sought, and they should be 
above the so-called thermal or frostless belts. Good apples are 
grown on low lands near the coast in Los Angeles and Orange 
Counties. Sixty miles inland, in San Bernardino and Riverside 
counties, winter apples fail in the valleys, but are most excellent 
at a sufficient elevation upon the slopes of the surrounding moun- 
tains or in elevated valleys like the Yucaipa Valley above Redlands, 
where a Rome Beauty of excellent quality was grown in 1903 to a 
weight of twenty-seven ounces and a circumference of fifteen inches. 
This, however, is not "the record" in apple size for the writer re- 
ceived a Bietigheimer from Napa in 1921 which weighed twenty- 
eight ounces and had a circumference of sixteen inches ! In the 
elevated interior of San Diego County, as in the Julian and Smith 
Mountain districts and in the San Jacinto region of Riverside 
county, excellent apples are produced in large quantities and profit- 
ably carried long distances. 



200 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Second and Third-Crop Apples. — There is a pecuHar behavior of 
the apple tree, most noticeable when winter temperature is mildest, 
and that is blooming and fruiting out of season. In the case of 
early apples the second bloom may appear about the time the first 
fruit ripens and the third bloom when the second crop is half grown. 
Even such behavior may be followed by regular blooming the fol- 
lowing spring. Second crops of apples are not of amount nor regu- 
larity enough to be of much economic importance, as the second 
crops of pears and grapes sometimes are. The third crop occa- 
sionally ripens. An instance is on record at Chino, San Bernardino 
County, where in 1903 a tree ripened its first crop in June, and its 
last fruit was picked on Christmas day following. Such behavior, 
of course, indicates conditions ill suited to the apple. 

Exposures for the Apple. — The choice of exposure for an apple 
orchard may almost be inferred from what has been said about 
localities. In regions with high summer temperature the apple will 
do best on cool, northerly slopes, and this exposure becomes doubly 
desirable when the location has high temperature with only moder- 
ate annual rainfall, or where the soil is not well adapted to the 
retention of moisture. With such prevailing conditions, the apple 
will be grateful for the cooler air and the greater moisture of the 
northerly slope. Where the temperature is moderately cool, and 
the rainfall adequate, the matter of exposure is of less account, and 
the grower can make the existence of the best soil the test of loca- 
tion for his orchard. At elevations on the sides of high ranges 
where late cold storms are liable to rush down from higher snow 
fields, protection from the usual course of such storms, or from the 
course of cold winds generally, must be sought ; and directly up the 
coast, especially in the northern part of the State, in certain places 
where the peach does not usually succeed, even the apple needs pro- 
tection, and the benefit of all heat available, and then a southerly 
or southeasterly exposure becomes desirable. The choice of ex- 
posure is thus seen to be largely a local question and to be deter- 
mined by a knowledge of local conditions. A newcomer in a region 
can best learn these conditions by conference with older residents, 
or by personal observation of older orchards. 

Soils for the Apple. — Experience with the apple in California 
confirms what has long been set forth as its choice of soils in older 
regions. If one avoids an extremely light, sandy soil on the one 
hand, and a very stiff clay or adobe on the other, he may plant 
apples on almost any soil which allows extension of the roots to a 
considerable depth without reaching standing water. The apple 
thrives in a moist soil, but it must be well drained, naturally or 
otherwise. A soil which may be called best for the apple is a deep, 
rich, moist, calcareous loam, but the tree will thrive on coarser ma- 
terials. The subsoil, whatever its nature, must be sound and open 
to the passage of moisture. The most unfavorable condition for the 
tree is a subsoil of clay which holds water. There is some difference 
in varieties as to choice of soil. The Yellow Bellflower, for instance, 
will do well on a lighter soil than the Yellow Newtown Pippin. 



HOW TO ESCAPE THE WOOLLY APHIS 201 

PROPAGATION OF THE APPLE 

The apple is chiefly propagated by root-grafting upon apple 
seedling roots, either whole roots or root pieces. Budding is also 
practised up to a certain extent. For dwarf trees the Paradise 
stock is used. Repeated trials with working the apple on the pear, 
chiefly by top grafting, have secured growth of limited life but 
without fruiting. 

The resistance of certain roots to the woolly aphis has been fully 
demonstrated by local experience in the use of the Northern Spy 
and Winter Majetin, chiefly the former. Seedlings of Northern Spy 
can not be relied upon as resistant to the woolly aphis. It is neces- 
sary to get a root actually grown from the Northern Spy wood. The 
best way to get a start is to buy some Northern Spy trees from 
some reputable nurseryman, specifying that they shall be Northern 
Spy root and top. With these resistant roots and wood growth for 
scions or cuttings can be grown. Resistant trees are made by root 
grafting the scion of the variety which it is desired to propagate 
upon a piece of Northern Spy root and then being careful that the 
scion does not send out roots of its own, but is wholly dependent 
upon the Northern Spy root. It is customary with nurserymen 
selling resistant trees to save the root pieces which are removed in 
digging and packing, for subsequent propagation. It is also possible 
to get a resistant tree by starting from the cutting of a Northern 
Spy. To facilitate the rotting of these cuttings a small piece of any 
kind of apple root is put in by side graft near the bottom of the cut- 
ting. This acts as a starter, but the cuting will also make roots of 
itself. At the end of the first year then the cuttings are taken up, the 
piece of root used as a starter is cleanly cut away and the rooted cut- 
ting replanted ; henceforth it is dependent upon its own roots and is 
resistant. The variety desired is then grafted in a little way above 
the ground surface so that there will be no danger of its making 
its own roots. By either of these processes it is more troublesome 
and takes more time to produce a tree with a resistant root than 
in the ordinary way, and for that reason trees on resistant roots are 
sold at higher price, and this may explain why resistant trees are 
not yet largely used in this State. 

Other suggestions applicable to the growth of young apple trees 
are given in Chapters VIII and IX. 



DISEASES AND PESTS OF THE APPLE 

The apple is subject to various diseases and insect enemies which 
must be resolutely fought or they will render the trees unprofitable. 
Chief of these diseases are the "pear blight" and the apple scab, and 
the apple mildew. Of the insect enemies the codlin moth, the apple- 
leaf aphis, the various leaf-cutting caterpillars and several scale 
insects must be kept in check, and the latest approved means of 
reducing these troubles will be described in detail in Chapters XLII 
and XLIII. 



202 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

PLANTING AND CARE OF THE APPLE ORCHARD 

The chapters on planting, and pruning contain suggestions to 
which the reader is referred. Care should be taken to obtain trees 
with clean, healthy roots, not knotted and scarred by woolly aphis. 

Distance in Planting. — The distance between the trees is of the 
highest importance. All the old apple orchards are overcrowded. 
More recently trees have been set at greater distance, and such 
planting is now generally advised. There is some difference of 
opinion as to proper distance, but certainly twenty-five to thirty 
feet is near enough, and some of the best new orchards have been 
planted at forty feet, the ground being used for a time with other 
crops or planted with early bearing trees, for which the soil is 
suited, between them. Berries are largely grown in young apple 
orchards in the Sebastopol district. 

Pruning the Apple. — The manner of shaping fruit trees described 
in the chapter on pruning succeeds admirably with the apple. Year- 
ling trees are usually planted, and they are regularly pruned until 
proper form is secured. 

Mr. C. H. Rodgers, during his life-time a leading apple grower 
of the Watsonville district, near the coast in central California, gave 
the following excellent outline of a simple and economical, yet suc- 
cessful, method for apple tree building under ordinary conditions. 

First Year : On planting cut the stem from 30 to 36 inches in 
height, with the terminal bud toward the southwest. In the spring, 
when growth begins, strip off all shoots from the ground up to 
about 20 inches. Above this point let all growth remain during the 
summer. If for any cause during early summer a bud does not start 
where wanted, a short transverse cut through the bark just above 
the bud will cause it to develop into limb. 

Beginning of Second Year : Cut off all limbs except those selected 
to remain permanently. Two, three, four, and not more than five 
limbs should be allowed to remain, the number depending on their 
position. It should be the aim to distribute them evenly on all sides, 
and to give all possible space between limbs up and down the trunk. 
This latter precaution is to give room for expansion of limbs in after 
years. Cut back the limbs that are to remain, taking off from one- 
third to one-half of the previous season's growth. It the tree is of a 
spreading habit, and it is desired to have it grow erect, cut to inner 
buds. If desired to spread the top cut to outer buds. 

Beginning of Third Year: Allow two or three lateral limbs to 
remain on each of the main branches. Top the tree again, taking off 
from one-third to one-half the previous year's growth. Continue 
this method during the first four years, at which time the tree should 
begin to bear, and if surrounding conditions are favorable, it will 
prove strong, vigorous and capable of sustaining a heavy load of 
apples. The after treatment will consist mainly in keeping the top 
properly thinned. 

After coming into bearing there must be intelligent pruning ac- 
cording to the growth-habit of the variety. Some varieties, like the 



PRUNING THE APPLE 203 

Yellow Bellflower, resent heavy pruning after coming into bear- 
ing, and slow growers like the Yellow Newtown Pippin, do not need 
it. On the other hand, varieties like the Winesap and Smith's Cider 
are apt to make long slim branches and bear at the ends. This can 
be corrected by cutting back to secure more short shoots which will 
bear better fruit. Some varieties, like the Jonathan, will make 
plenty of short spurs under this treatment, while others, like Rome 
Beauty and Rhode Island Greening, are persistent tip-bearers, but 
can be gradually drawn in without reducing the crop too much. 
The grower must study his varieties not only with reference to this 
but in forming the tree, cutting to an inside bud all varieties which 
naturally take a horizontal direction, and cutting to an outside bud 
varieties which have a tendency to send up tall, straight shoots. 
By this throwing the new growth upward in the first case, and 
outward in the second, one can shape each kind to greater symmetry 
and strength for fruit carrying, and bring up all spreading varieties 
to a form which admits near approach of the plow and cultivator. 
This manner of shaping the tree must continue as long as seems 
necessary to secure a tree which will come to bearing age shapely 
and strong, and within reach. 

Bearing trees should not be allowed to carry too many branches, 
and pruning will largely consists of thinning out surplus shoots and 
removing interference between branches. It is not desirable to 
shorten in the apple as is done with the apricot and peach. Some 
growers do not cut back after the third year. 

A successful treatment of bearing trees, long practiced in the 
Sebastopol district, is described by Mr. W. I. Newcomb as follows : 

While trees are young, their new growth is cut back one-half to two- 
thirds. When they become older they are not topped at all to speak of. 

As long as you cut the ends off from branches, they will grow more new 
wood; if you leave them alone, their tendency is more to very slow growth 
and heavier fruiting down on the old wood. When thinning is necessary, 
cut off the entire branch. 

Wood is allowed to grow quite thickly in the center of the older trees, but 
is thinned out to prevent rubbing, however. Fruit spurs are induced to set in 
the body of the tree rather than far out on the limbs where a heavy load is 
dangerous to the tree and fruit too. Some spurs on the old trees have 
borne half a dozen crops each, and will continue. 

Summer Pruning. — Summer pruning to reduce wood growth and 
promote bearing is practiced to a limited extent in some districts 
upon varieties inclined to shy bearing. In regions of the most in- 
tense summer heat, less pruning is admissible than in the coast and 
elevated regions. It is necessary that the foliage be dense to protect 
the tree and the fruit from sunburn. Nor does the tree seem to 
relish cutting back. Slight thining out if the tree becomes too 
brushy, seems to be the best treatment in some of the hot valleys. 

In summer pruning to secure form and earlier fruiting of the 
young tree, there is much variation in method. Very systematic 
work is credited to Mr. J. W. Fulton of Yucaipa, San Bernardino 
County, as follows : 



204 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The orchard includes ten acres of Rome Beauties and ten of Stayman 
Winesap, Arkansas Black, Black Ben, and Vanderpool Red. The summer 
pruning is done in June and again in August. In June the new growth is 
eight or ten inches long on the average. It is not cut back, but thinned out 
to keep the trees open enough, but not to allow sunburn. Suckerous growth 
especially is removed. The only cutting back at that time is to direct the 
growth of undesirably-pointed limbs into another direction. Rome Beauty 
especially is hard to spread enough, so all cutting back is done to an outside 
bud. The Winesaps naturally spread, and may need direction upward. A 
branch may be growing in a direction where it would cross another by 
winter and have to be taken out then. There is much less wasted energy 
if it is cut out early. Late in August comes the really vigorous pruning, 
when the new growth is two to four feet long. It is cut back and thinned 
some more. Then in winter there is only some small brush to cut out. 

Mr. F. W. Dunscombe of Beaumont, San Bernardino County, has 
for a number of years promoted bearing in young apple trees in 
this way : 

After four years old, there is usually no need to prune an apple tree 
for increased size. Turn the tree's energies into bearing instead of wood 
growth. Do not prune in winter except to cut out dead wood and interfering 
branches, and to thin out where brush is too thick. Top back the new 
growth (not heavily) all summer, preferably in August. The stoppage of 
sap flow will force side buds to become fruit buds and spurs. When enough 
spurs have been started by a few years' summer pruning, leave the trees 
alone except to thin them out and keep them open to the sun for vigorous 
fruiting and high coloring inside the tree. In cutting back in summer, leave 
a branch or a promising bud just below the cut. 

Thinning the Fruit. — One of the most important items in the 
handHng of an apple orchard is the faithful thinning out of the fruit 
of all varieties which are prone to over-bear, and this work is now 
regularly provided for by the leading commercial growers. Only 
one apple should grow at a place, and spacing of four to six inches 
is commended. Although this work is tedious and expensive, it is 
profitable, because of the improved price which can be had for the 
larger fruit which will be secured, and it is desirable in the effects 
of thinning on the tree. It will be relieved from the exhaustion of 
overbearing, induced to yield annual crops, and often saved from 
breaking down with a too heavy burden. 

Cultivation and Irrigation. — All that has been urged in measures 
to secure adequate moisture supply has full force with the apple. 
Excepting the early varieties, it is a fruit with a long growing season 
and therefore requires continuous moisture to secure size and qua- 
lity. Most California apples are grown on deep, retentive soils in 
regions of large rainfall and if this is conserved by thorough culti- 
vation, good fruit can be secured, though irrigation to increase size 
of fruit is often desirable. It is doubtless true that apples in coast 
valleys would sometimes be improved by irrigation just as they are 
in interior and mountain districts where adequate irrigation is es- 
sential. 

Fertilizers have been thus far but little used in California apple 
orchards, but they are manifestly needed. 



HOUSES FOR STORING APPLES 205 

GATHERING AND STORING APPLES 

The disposition in this State, as elsewhere, is to allow the fruit 
to hang too long upon the tree before gathering. It was long ago 
demonstrated that an apple for long-keeping must be picked a little 
in advance of full maturity. As late fall weather in California is so 
delightful, there is more temptation to delay the picking than where 
the approach of winter admonishes the grower to get his fruit under 
cover. Picking apples for shipment should be done just when the 
seeds begin to blacken and when the fruit yields to pressure. If 
left on until fully ripe, and the seeds all black, the fruit is apt not 
to keep well. This rule applies to fall apples for shipment to dis- 
tant markets, or for apples to be stored at home. But this is a rule 
with exceptions. A. W. Tate of Watsonville does not pick Arkansas 
Black Twigs until the latter part of November, when they are well 
sugared but firm and matured — a nice color and very desirable for 
the holiday trade. The King is often picked too early — before it 
has the color or size it ought to have. Apples are picked early to 
escape the drop, but in the Watsonville district canners and driers 
pay good prices for sound windfalls, and the late picked apples sell 
at a good price. 

An Apple Storage House. — Mr. C. H. King of Sonoma County 
has a storage house with a capacity of 7,500 boxes or more. The 
building is 40x60 feet, has no refrigerating equipment, but is kept 
cool by night ventilation. The floor and sides are of sawdust held 
in place by board sheeting inside and out, 8 inches apart. The ceil- 
ing has two layers of sheeting and 14 inches of sawdust, above 
which is six feet of air space, then the regular gabled roof. The air 
space helps shield the ceiling from the heat on the roof. 

Along the peak of the roof is a low, open, continuous cupola. On 
each of two sides are seven doors about two feet square, built like 
the sides ,and located just above the level of the floor. At night 
these are opened. A wire screen on each prevents exit or entrance 
of any codling moths or rodents. At the end of the season, the 
house is closed tight and sulphur burned to kill any insects which 
may be carrying over. 

The fruit is stacked in trays 22 inches square and 3 inches deep. 
Their bottoms are of eight laths, so spaced that apples rest squarely 
on them. One lath on each side leaves plenty of chance for ventila- 
tion. 

Trays are stacked 30 deep in piles so there is an aisle from each 
door to the one on the other side of the house. A gentle draft of 
cold air flows in at night while the warmer air flows up through the 
cupola. Some Wageners and Yellow Newtowns have been success- 
fully held until April 15 with less than two per cent of loss by decay. 

A rather more open house is used in the coast region of Southern 
California, by Mr. T. W. Ward, of Carpinteria : 

It is a slat house made of strips Ix2j4 inches, put on one inch apart. The 
roof is similarly constructed. There are two passages, on either side of 
which are two shelves, one above the other, i. e., eight in all. The shelves 
are made of slats placed one-half inch apart, with sides a food high. The 



206 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

apples are spread on these shelves a foor or more deep. The floor is made 
of slats, and there are bins on this also. The first must receive a thorough 
sprinkling weekly, unless sufficient rain falls. The slats are close enough 
to prevent birds doing damage, and the whole building is raised six inches 
from the ground. 

In the mountain regions arrangements must be made for frost 
exclusion — a consideration which does not apply to the valley and 
coast. 

PICKING AND PACKING APPLES ON A LARGE SCALE 

Mr. C. H. Rodgers, whose pruning prescription has been cited, 
gives the best methods of handling apples for market as follows : 

In the matter of picking, experience has evolved a number of rules which 
should be strictly adhered to: 

(1) Do not pull the apple oflf the tree. By so doing, the stem may be 
detached from the apple, thus making a second grade of what otherwise 
would be choice. 

The proper method of plucking the apple is to grasp it with the full hand, 
not with the fingers only, and by a gentle twist and lateral movement detach 
it with the stem attached. Especially must finger pressure be avoided in 
the picking, as bruises thereby produced injure the value. 

(2) The apple must n ever be dropped into a receptacle or from box to 
box, but should be transferred as carefully as so many eggs. 

(3) Under all circumstances use vehicles having springs in moving the 
fruit. 

Once within the packing-house the more perishable varieties should be 
handled immediately and forwarded to market, while the long-keeping vari- 
eties, especially those intended for export, should be held at least a month 
before sorting and packing. This latter precaution enables the packer to 
discover and eliminate all diseased and defective fruit — a thing that would 
be impossible if the fruit were packed at an early date after picking. 

Three grades or qualities are recognized in the "trade" — first, second 
and third. First grade includes only perfect fruit. Second grade includes 
the fruit having a trivial surface blemish or stem absent. The third or cull 
class includes all wormy, badly bruised or skin-broken apples. 

Though grading for size varies somewhat in different localities, in the 
Watsonville district, the leading apple-producing center of the West, there 
are but three sizes recognized. These are 3^, 4 and 4^/2 tier. The unit of 
size is the 4-tier, which comprises all apples running from 2^ to 3]4 inches 
in diameter, and derives the name from the fact that when packed in the 
box there are four rows of four apples each, both vertically and horizon- 
tally across the end of the box. Apples in excess of 3%. inches are classed 
as 3j/2-tier size. The third size, 4>l-tier, includes those apples ranging 
between 2% and 2^ inches in diameter. Both the 3^-tier and 4^-2-tier 
are packed in the manner known as "diamond" pack or "pear" pack. Apples 
smaller than 4j^-tier are thrown into the cull pile. The sorter ascertains 
the size by passing the apples through circular holes in a board. 

In this state the standard box is made of pine. Redwood boxes are used 
only for cheap grades of apples packed for the local market. 

After being sorted, the apples are passed to the packer, who, before 
placing them in the box, wraps each apple in a piece of paper prepared for 
the purpose. 

The apples must be so packed in the box as to permit the nailing firmly 
of the lid at each end, and at the same time allow a gradual swell of about 
three-fourths of an inch at the middle of both top and bottom. On account 
of the resultant shape of the boxes, they can be stacked up with safety only 
on their sides. 

The packed boxes, after being neatly labeled, are next transferred to the 
cars and stacked four or five tiers high. An air space of three or four feet 



APPLES FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES 2Q7 

is left between the top tier and the roof of the car, also the entire space 
between the doors is left vacant for the better circulation of air. The boxes, 
after being systematically placed in the car, are so braced with timbers as 
to prevent any movement. The usual carload consists of about 650 boxes. 
Refrigerator fruit cars are employed mainly for apple shipment, but no ice 
is used. 

Before packing apples for sale growlers should inform themselves 
fully as to the latest standardization requirements by consulting the 
county horticultural commissioners. 

Summer and Fall Apples. — In some regions noted for early ma- 
turing of fruit, it is profitable to grow early apples, providing there 
are facilities for reaching profitable avenues of trade. Except to 
minister to some special local or distant trade which can be thus 
foresoon, it must be said that very early apples are hardly worth 
the attention of the commercial planter. These sorts are apt to come 
into direct contest with the magnificent peaches, grapes and other 
summer and autumn fruits, and suffer thereby. 

On the other hand the fall apples, chiefly the Yellow Bellfiower 
and Gravenstein, are so good and profitable in regions where they 
bear well that they are among the varieties which constitute our 
chief commercial reliance. Bellflowers are also encroaching on the 
field of winter apples because they come out so well from cold 
storage. 

Winter Apples. — For large ventures in apple growing, in locali- 
ties carefully chosen for especial adaptations, a few of the finest 
varieties of winter apples should generally be selected. It is the 
judgment of the most experienced apple growers, many of whom 
have old orchards including many varieties, that new plantations 
of winter apples should contain only about six sorts. Of these, in 
most parts of the State, two would be the Yellow Newtown Pippin 
and White Winter Pearmain ; the other four would vary in different 
parts of the State, as can be learned by conference with experienced 
local growers. 

Apples for Long Shipment. — There has been for years quite an 
important trade in shipment of California apples to various ports 
in the South Pacific Ocean, and recently there has been a sharp 
demand for Calofornia apples for shipment to the Eastern States 
and England, and this movement by way of the Panama Canal may 
be expected to increase greatly. The characteristic size, quality 
and keeping of the fruit, together with the size and style of package, 
have strongly commended the fruit. The center of this trade is Wat- 
sonville, in a coast valley, in the central part of the State. The two 
apples which are most popular are the Yellow Bellfiower and the 
Yellow Newtown Pippin. It is an interesting fact that these varie- 
ties have overcome the popular ferver for a red apple, though at 
Watsonville some Red Pearmains are grown to fill orders which 
insist on having some color. 

For the Interior Valleys. — In choosing varieties for the hot val- 
leys of the State those making a heavy foliage growth are to be pre- 
ferred. The Spitzenburg, for example, is a failure in the valleys of the 



20g CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

interior, though satisfactory at points on the valley borders. From 
experience already had it seems likely that some of the Russian 
varieties, with thick, large leaves, will prove best for such situations. 
The behavior of the Astracans, the Duchess of Oldenburg, and 
others of Russian origin, are illustrations of this fact. Other varie- 
ties have been on trial for several years, but no great distribution 
of them has yet been attained. 

SELECTION OF VARIETIES FOR CROSS-POLLINATION 

The suspicion long held by growers that productivity of the apple 
is largely conditioned on cross-pollination, at least in the case of 
some leading commercial varieties, is being sustained by careful 
tests by the pomologists of the University of California in the Wat- 
sonville district. Results indicate that the Yellow Newtown Pippin 
is self-fertile but is helped by cross-fertilization with the Red Pear- 
main which is also best for the Yellow Bellflower. Red and white 
Pearmains are virtually advantageous. The Yellow Bellflower is 
self-sterile ; also that, though they bloom together, is not satisfac- 
torily influenced by the Yellow Newtown. In all cases the set of 
fruit was largely increased by providing hives of bees to act as polli- 
nating agencies. The present inference is that planters should 
provide potent pollinizers and not narrow down too closely in plant- 
ing some of the varieties which the trade seems to require. 

For the Sebastopol district Mr. O. E. Bremner observes that the 
Gravenstein, the basic local variety, is assisted in bearing by Esopus 
Spitzenburg, and Baldwin; while Wagener, and Rome Beauty or 
Hoover, Rhode Island Greening and Red Astracan, are well adapted 
for alternate planting. Gravenstein is also advantaged by Delicious 
and Jonathan 

Association for cross-pollination can be arranged with a number 
of our most popular varieties by consulting the following dates of 
blooming as prepared by Mr. Frederick Maskew based upon ob- 
servations in the coast region of Los Angeles County : 

General 
Varieties. First bloom. Full bloom. fall of bloom. 

White Winter Pearmain April 11 April 27 May 5 

Red Astracan April 17 April 30 May 12 

Bellflower April 20 April 30 May 16 

Fall Pippin April 20 May 5 May 15 

Rhode Island Greening April 20 May 5 May 15 

Kentucky Red Streak April 20 May 10 May 20 

Early Harvest April 21 May 6 May 12 

Shockly April 27 May IS May 20 

Fameuse April 27 May 15 May 22 

Ben Davis April 29 May 15 May 23 

Winesap May 5 May 17 June 1 

Yellow Transparent May 5 May 16 June 1 

None-such May 7 May 16 June 1 

Missouri Pippin May 10 May 20 June 1 

Alexander May 15 May 25 June 1 

Smiths Cider May 15 May 25 June 6 

Transcendent Crab Mar. 30 April 7 April 22 

Hyslop Crab April 11 April 22 April 30 

Montreal Crab April 16 April 24 May 7 



APPLES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 209 

This is a later range of bloom than will be found in many parts 
of the State, but the same relation may be expected everywhere. 

APPLES CHIEFLY GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 

Of the hundreds of varieties tested in California comparatively 
few are now grown, as has already been suggested. Those named 
in Chapter XVI are most largely grown. They are grown in all 
regions, according to the suitability of their maturing season to local 
growing conditions and the avenues of profitable trade which have 
been developed. Including these the following showing is made 
of practically all varieties which are now being propagated for 
planting. The arrangement is, approximately, in the order of 
ripening. 

Carolina Red June (Southern). — Medium size oval, irregular, inclined to 
conic; deep red covered with light bloom; slack in small cavity; calyx 
closed; flesh white, tender, juicy, subacid; core rather large. 

Early Harvest (American). — Medium size, roundish; straw color with 
few faint white dots; stalk half to three-fourths inch, slender, set in mod- 
erate cavity; calyx in shallow basin; flesh very white, tender, crisp, pleas- 
ant. 

Early Strawberry (New York). — Medium size, roundish, narrowing to- 
ward the eye; skin smooth, deep red on yellow ground; stalk one and a 
half inches, rather slender and uneven, in deep cavity; calyx small, in shallow 
basin; flesh white, tinged with red next to the skin, tender subacid, sprightly. 

Red Astracan (Russian). — Large roundish; skin deep red, save greenish 
yellow in the shade; pale white bloom; stalk short, and deeply inserted; 
calyx partially closed and set in slight basin; flesh white, juicy and crisp, 
pleasant acid; tree hardy and vigorous, and an early bearer. The main 
reliance in California for an early apple. 

White Astracan (Russian). — Large, roundish; skin smooth and nearly 
white, with faint streaks of red, and covered with white bloom; flesh white. 
Considerably grown in the Sacramento Valley and foothills for early ship- 
ment. Sometimes attains a weight of 29 ounces. Excellent in the Modesto 
district of the San Joaquin Valley. 

Duchess of Oldenburg (Russian). — Large, roundish, oblate; yellow, 
streaked with red; calyx large, nearly closed, set in wide, even hollow; 
flesh juicy, subacid. 

Skinner's Seedling (name approved by California State Horticultural 
Society, November, 1887) ; syn. Skinner's Pippin, Santa Clara King. — Orig- 
inated with Judge H. C. Skinner, of San Jose. Fruit large to very large; 
form oblate, conic, slightly mixed; color rich lemon yellow, faintly striped 
with bright red; flesh yellowish white, very tender, juicy, sprightly, mild 
subacid; quality best. Season, September and October. Excellent for home 
use and local sale. Difficult to pick without breaking the spurs. 

Gravenstein (German). — Large, rather flattened; a little one-sided or 
angular; broadest at base; stalk short, strong, deeply set; calyx large, 
closed, in a large basin; skin yellow, freely marked with light and deep red 
and orange; flesh tender, crisp, highly flavored, aromatic; a strong-grow- 
ing and heavily-bearing tree; a standard fall apple in this State. 

Red Bietigheimer (German). — Large to very large, oblate, slightly coni- 
cal, regular, smooth, whitish or yellowish white, shaded with light and dark 
red, and purplish crimson in the sun; stalk short, rather stout, calyx closed 
in large, deeply, slightly corrugated basin; flesh white, firm, juicy, brisk 
subacid. Declining in favor. 

Maiden's Blush (New Jersey). — Rather large, smooth, regular; yellow, 
with evenly shaded red cheek; stalk short, in rather wide, deep hollow; 
calyx closed in moderate depression; flesh white, tender sprightly. 



210 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Fall Pippin. — Very large, roundish, a little flattened; stalk three-fourths 
inch, projecting considerably beyond the fruit (which distinguishes it from 
the Holland Pippin); calyx open, not very large, rather deeply sunk in 
round, narrow basin; skin smooth, yellowish green, becoming pure yellow; 
brownish blush and few scattered dots; flesh white, tender, mellow, rich, 
aromatic. Being discarded by planters. 

Alexander (Russian). — Very large, showy, conical, greenish yellow, 
streaked with red in shade, bright red in sun; calyx large, in deep basin; 
stalk slender, long, in deep cavity; flesh yellowish white, crisp, tender, and 
juicy. Tree vigorous, but not always a good bearer. 

Gloria Mundi. — Very large, roundish, oblate; ribbed; greenish yellow. 
A popular show apple on account of great size attained in this State. 

Fameuse; syn. Snow Apple (Canada). — Medium size, roundish, somewhat 
flattened; deep crimson, nearly concealing pale yellowish ground; flesh 
snowy white, tender, juicy, slight perfume; stalk slender, one-half inch, in 
narrow funnel-shaped cavity; succeeds well in the foothills, but losing popu- 
larity. 

King of Tompkins County. — Large, globular, angular, inclining to conic; 
yellowish, mostly shaded with red, striped and splashed with crimson; stalk 
short and stout, in large, somewhat irregular cavity; calyx small, closed; 
flesh yellowish, rich, juicy, vinous, aromatic; chiefly grown in mountain 
regions. Popular in Humboldt County. 

Ben Davis. — Large, roundish, sides often unequal; light red and deep 
red on yellowish ground; stalk medium, rather slender, in deep, narrow 
cavity; calyx partially open. Being discarded by planters. Displaced by 
Black Ben Davis and Gano to some extent. 

Baldwin (Massachusetts). — Large, roundish, narrowing a little toward 
the eye; deep bright red over a yellow ground; a few russet dots; calyx 
closed and set in narrow basin; stalk one-half to three-quarters inch, rather 
slender, set in deep cavity; flesh yellowish-white, crisp, juicy, sub-acid. 
Best in northern and elevated regions; coloring varies greatly according to 
locality. 

Hoover (South Carolina). — Large, roundish, slightly oblique; yellowish, 
mostly overspread with red, with conspicuous light dots; stalk rather long, 
in large cavity; calyx open in furrowed basin; flesh yellowish, juicy, crisp, 
acid. Sells well in Sonoma County. 

Rhode Island Greening. — Large, roundish, a little flattened, pretty regu- 
lar; dark green, becoming yellowish green; calyx small, woolly, closed, in 
shallow basin; stalk three-fourths inch, curved, thickest at the bottom; 
flesh yellow, fine grained; tender crisp, juicy, aromatic, slightly acid;- tree 
healthy and the variety widely popular. Sells well to apple driers. 

King David. — Large, deep red, suffusing rich yellow, and delicious flavor. 
Largely planted for the fall trade, at elevated situations in Southern Cali- 
fornia. 

Jonathan (New York). — Medium to large, roundish, conical or tapering 
to the eye; light yellow, nearly covered with red stripes and deep red in the 
sun; stalk three-fourths of an inch, rather slender, in deep, regular cavity; 
calyx in deep, broad basin; tender, juicy, rich, vinous; a great favorite in 
California; specially commended as a market apple; keeps till midwinter. 

Winesap. — Medium size, roundish oblong; dark yellow with traces of 
yellow in the shade; stalk nearly an inch, slender, set in an irregular cav- 
ity; calyx small, in regular basin; flesh yellow, crisp, high, rich flavor; 
largely grown; tree a good bearer. 

Stayman Winesap. — An old improvement on the Winesap now becoming 
more prominent. Some growers reporting favorably on Winesap have this 
variety, which is larger and better, and the tree a stronger grower and 
more productive. 

Otrley; syn. White Bellflower, etc. (New Jersey). — Large, oblong, green- 
ish yellow, becoming fine yellow with slight blush; stalk medium, slender, 



APPLES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 211 

set in deep, acute cavity; calyx closed, set in abrupt corrugated basin; 
flesh white, fine grained, juicy, subacid; disappearing from propagation. 

Lawver. — Large, roundish, oblate, dark red, covered with small dots; 
stalk medium, cavity deep, regular; calyx small, closed in medium furrowed 
basin; flesh white, sprightly, aromatic; late keeping variety, but being dis- 
carded. 

Yellow Belleflower (New Jersey). — Very large, oblong, irregular, taper- 
ing toward the eye; smooth; lemon color, with blush; stalk long and slen- 
der, in deep cavity; calyx closed, in rather narrow basin; flesh tender, juicy, 
crisp, with sprightly subacid flavor; keeps well into the winter; tree a strong 
grower and healthy; one of the universal favorites of California. 

Esopus Spitzenburg (New York). — Large, oblong, tapering roundly to 
the eye; smooth, nearly covered with rich, lively red, dotted with distinct 
yellowish russet dots; on shaded side, yellowish ground with streaks and 
broken stripes of red; stalk rather long, three-fourths inch, slender, pro- 
jecting beyond the base and inserted in the wide cavity; calyx small and 
closed, in shallow basin; flesh yellow, rather firm, crisp, juicy, with a de- 
licious rich, brisk flavor. A largely grown variety; tree a good, upright 
grower and healthy; fruit keeps fairly. 

Smith's Cider (Pennsylvania). — Large, roundish, oblate conic; yellow, 
shaded and striped with red, sparsely covered with gray dots; stalk slen- 
der, in deep, rather narrow cavity; calyx closed, in broad, shallow basin; flesh 
whitish, juicy, crisp, acid; tree a strong grower, and fruit keeps till midwinter. 

Rome Beauty (Ohio). — Large, roundish, approaching conic; yellow, shaded 
and striped with bright red, sprinkled with light dots; stalk one inch, in large, 
deep cavity; calyx partially closed, in deep narrow basin; flesh yellowish, 
juicy, sprightly; fruit keeps late. Particularly fine in the mountain valleys 
of Southern California, though popular also in northern coast districts. 

Missouri Pippin (Missouri). — Large, roundish oblate, slightly oblique, 
somewhat flattened at the ends; shaded, striped and splashed with light and 
dark red, often quite dark in the sun; many large and small gray dots; stalk 
short, small; cavity large, deep; calyx closed or half open, basin rather abrupt 
deep, slightly corrugated; flesh whitish, rather coarse, moderately juicy, sub- 
acid. Formerly largely planted, but losing favor for lack of keeping quality 
in coast valleys. 

Winter Banana. — Medium to large; golden yellow, shaded red; flavor 
rich, subacid. Late fall. An early bearer. 

Northern Spy (New York). — Large, roundish, oblate, conical; pale yel- 
low, purplish red stripes in the sun; stalk three-fourths inch, slender, in 
wide, deep cavity; calyx small, closed; flesh white, mild, pleasant; highly 
esteemed in a few localities, but abandoned in others for shy bearing. 

White Winter Pearmain. — Large, roundish, oblong conic, somewhat ob- 
lique; pale yellow with slight blush, many minute brown dots; stalk short, 
in deep cavity; calyx nearly closed; flesh yellowish, tender, crisp, juicy, very 
pleasant, subacid, extra high flavor; grown everywhere and fruit keeps late; 
tree a strong grower and healthy. Greatly advantaged by cross-pollination. 
Red Pearmain is grown to some extent to fill orders for a red apple. 

Grimes Golden. — Medium to large; rich yellow with many gray dots; 
beautiful; flavor good. Late fall. 

Delicious. — Resembling Bellflower; yellow; almost covered with dark red; 
very mild acid, quality good; a late keeper. Strongly approved in elevated 
districts, and recently largely planted. 

Arkansas Black (Mammonth Black Twig). — Large, round, sometimes 
oblate and conic; dull green becoming deep yellow, overspread with deep red, 
obscurely striped with deeper shade. Late fall. 

Yellow Newton Pippin. — Large, roundish, oblate and oblaque, more or 
less flattened, yellow with brownish red cheek; stalk very short; flesh firm, 
crisp, juicy, and with very rich, high flavor. Generally considered the best 
winter apple in California. 



212 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

CRAB APPLES 

H3rslop. — Fruit large, growing in clusters; roundish ovate; dark rich red, 
covered with thick blue bloom; stalk long, slender; calyx closed; flesh yel- 
lowish. 

Large Red Siberian. — Roundish ovate with large and prominent calyx; 
pale red and yellow skin. Large Yellow Siberian has similar fruit, light clear 
yellow, inclining to amber, with warm cheek. 

Trancendant- — Medium to large, roundish oval, flattened at the ends, 
slightly but regularly ribbed; golden yellow, with rich, crimson cheek, or 
nearly covered with red; delicate white bloom; stalk long and slender, in 
open, deep cavity; calyx closed; flesh creamy yellow. 

Montreal Beauty. — Large, roundish, oblate; bright yellow, mostly cov- 
ered and shaded with red; one of the most beautiful of crab apples. 



CHAPTER XVIII 



THE APRICOT 



California has nearly four million apricot trees which stand in 
the open air without protection of any kind and bear large, luscious 
fruit. That apricot trees can do this constitutes one of the unique 
features of California fruit growing and proclaims it different from 
fruit growing in other States, for, excepting a few localities in other 
parts of the Pacific slope, California has a monopoly of commercial 
apricot growing, and nowhere else in the world does the fruit attain 
such commercial importance. Although the apricot has been grown 
here from the earliest days of American occupation, and though 
since the opening of the export trade in canned and dried fruits, 
the apricot has gained in popularity, the planting of apricot orchards 
has not proceeded recently with great rapidity, although indications 
are that our distant patrons are only just beginning to recognize 
the desirability of the fruit, and their demands will make it well- 
nigh impossible for us to extend our production beyond profitable 
limits. The reason the apricot has not kept pace with the advance 
of some other fruits in California is to be found in certain limita- 
tions of suitable area which will be mentioned presently. 

Though the apricot has some pests and diseases to contend with, 
they have thus far proved slight evils, and the tree is generally re- 
garded as one of the healthiest and most vigorous, as it certainly 
is one of our most beautiful orchard trees. It is long - lived and 
attains great size. There were in 1900 here and there groups of trees 
half a century old with a height of fifty feet ; the main trunks like 
forest oaks, and the first branches of limbs twelve and fifteen inches 
through. The smaller limbs and foliage are at least fifty feet 
across ; a half dozen of them shade an acre of ground and they some- 
times yielded per tree a ton of fruit. But such trees do not meet 
orchard requirements and are only mentioned to show what the tree 
may do when it has its own way. 

The apricot is a rapid grower and an early and heavy bearer in 
California. In the interior and in the southern coast valleys it yields 
a paying crop during its third summer in the orchard, and from 
eight to fourteen tons to the acre was reached for several years in 
succession, in Judge Blackwood's old orchard of Royal apricots, in 
Alameda County. The trees, even of some varieties which are un- 
certain bearers, are large and vigorous growers, and have warranted 
the suggestion that there is a use for the apricot tree for a wind- 
break for the protection of other trees. The trees may be planted 
near together in strong land, and make a summer windbreak that 
will pay its way without regard to such fruit as it may incidentally 
produce. 

Apricots are chiefly marketed as a dried fruit, and the operation 
of drying will be described in the chapter devoted to such processes. 



214 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The amount used in canning is, in a year of full production, about 
one-quarter of that used for drying, while the weight of fruit sold 
fresh to consumers, near and far, is about one-quarter of that used 
by the canners. It is historically interesting to note that in 1918 
apricot pits of the crop of 1917 sold at $32.50 per ton for war 
purposes. 

LOCALITIES FOR THE APRICOT 

In discussing localities for the apricot, reference is, of course, 
only made to its growth as a standard orchard tree without pro- 
tection of ony kind. It shows even in California that it does not 
forget the conditions which destroy its thrift elsewhere, for late 
frost in our upper coast counties render it, as a rule, unprofitable. 
Speaking broadly, the quarter of the State lying northward of the 
Bay of San Francisco and westward of the high ridge of the Coast 
Range is not suited for commercial apricot growing ; though here 
and there are places where bearing may be regular and abundant 
enough to make trees satisfactory for home gardens. The mountain 
regions everywhere in the State above an elevation of 1200 feet are 
also to be excluded. The lowest lands of the great interior valleys, 
except here and there, where frosts are prevented by proximity of 
broad streams or by favoring air currents, are unsuited for apricots, 
and the bottoms of small valleys whence cold air cannot find drain- 
age outlet, are also treacherous. It is evident then, that even in 
regions of general adaptation to the fruit local discrimination must 
be exercised in selecting land for apricots, and the occurrence of 
spring frosts, which are usually governed by topography, must be 
guarded against. This is not the same problem which arises in the 
selection of land for fruits, because apricots are not open to injury 
during December, January and February, and consequently they 
may be successfully grown in places where winter temperatures 
might injure the evergreen trees of the citrus family. Still, next 
to the almond, the apricot is most liable to frost injury of all our 
deciduous tree fruits, and commercial success depends largely upon 
the selection of a proper place for them. The occurrence of even 
light frosts during the blooming and setting, or soon after, may 
strip the tree of its burden of fruit without injury to even the softest 
twig and leaf ; consequently, regular bearing of the apricot can not 
be expected where the temperature is apt to fall four or five de- 
grees below the freezing point during the months of March and 
April, even though the duration of such temperature may be very 
brief. For this reason the area of California which is well suited 
to apricot growing is limited when compared with the great area 
of the State, though when counted by acres it is ample enough to 
supply all the fresh, canned and dried apricots which the markets 
of the world can be expected to take at profitable figures. 

It is often claimed that situations directly subject to ocean in- 
fluences are best for the apricot. It is noted by many observers 
that the apricot "points its best branches to the ocean, in the very 
teeth of the constant breeze, and the landward limbs and twigs bend 



LOCATIONS FOR THE APRICOT 215 

up and endeavor to reach the same direction. This is patent in every 
tree, and in the long orchard rows is very striking." This is taken 
to signify the special liking of the tree for the vicinity of the coast 
— if spring frosts are not too frequent. It is well enough to inter- 
pret it that way, providing one does not lose sight of the perfect 
success of the apricot in the interior as well. It is true that the fruit 
near the coast attains higher color, and the less rapid growth of 
the tree makes it somewhat easier to handle, but the earlier ripen- 
ing in the interior, coupled with freedom from fog and constant 
sunshine for drying, are points of the highest industrial importance. 
The fact is that the apricot has a very wide range in California, and 
though the trees have been cut out at some points it has been chiefly 
because too frosty locations have been chosen or because some other 
fruit has seemed to be locally more desirable, for one reason or 
another. 

In some valleys in the upper part of the State opening directly 
to the ocean, there is sometimes complaint of the cracking of the 
fruit on the sunny side. The alternation of sunshine and fog seems 
to have something to do with this, for in favorable years, when fogs 
are few, the fruit is sound. 

Locations for early ripening of the apricot are to be chosen with 
reference to the influence of topography, as laid down in Chapter I. 
In a general way, it may be said, in regions directly subject to coast 
influences, both in Northern and Southern California, the apricot is 
late. On the west side of the Sacramento Valley, on slightly elevated 
places, in small, hill-locked valleys, the earliest apricots have been 
grown for years. Protected situations in the lower foothills of the 
Sierra Nevada, on the eastern rim of both the Sacramento and San 
Joaquin Valleys, share in the production of the earliest ripening 
fruit. There is probably about a month's difference in the ripening 
of the same variety in the earliest situations and in the coast valleys 
of both Northern and Southern California. 

In the interior of Southern California, inirrigated situations, on 
the west side of the Colorado River and in adjacent parts of Arizona, 
apricots rival in earliness the product of the famous valleys of in- 
terior Northern California. 

Recently a measure of success with the apricot has been attained 
in irrigated sections of Eastern Washington, Idaho and Utah. If 
winter temperatures are low enough to keep the tree dormant and 
yet not low enough to injure the fruit buds and frosts are absent 
after growth begins, success ought to be attainable. 

STOCKS AND SOILS FOR THE APRICOT 

Because of the success with which the apricot can be budded on 
various stocks, it has a wide range in adaptation to different soils. 
Budded on the peach root it may be grown successfully on the light, 
warm, well-drained loams in which the peach delights. The peach 
root is, in fact, largely used for the apricot. It gives the tree quick 
growth and early fruiting, and the fact that the gopher does not 



21^ CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

like the peach root is a consideration with some planters. In grow- 
ing stocks, pits of a strong-growing yellow peach are believed to 
yield more uniform and thrifty seedlings. 

For deep, rich, well-drained, loamy soils, the apricot on its own 
root makes a magnificent tree. Apricot roots for budding are easily 
secured. The pits sprout as readily as corn. Sometimes, where 
cutting and drying are done in the orchard, the ground the next 
spring will be almost covered with a volunteer crop of seedling 
apricots. These little plants, taken up and set out in nursery rows 
in March, are ready for budding in June or July. Large numbers 
of trees are sometimes secured in this way. In the upper San 
Joaquin Valley there are situations in which the apricot seems more 
productive on its own roots than on the peach, and in the moister 
parts of the San Fernando and tributary valleys in Southern Cali- 
fornia the apricot root has recently advanced in popularity. It is, 
however, rather more sensitive to soil-drouth than the peach root. 
Formerly in the Imperial Valley the apricot root was regarded- as 
less tolerant of alkali than the peach root, but recently in the San 
Joaquin valley the reverse has been held. 

When it is desired to grow the apricot in moister and heavier 
soils than have been described, or where a light soil is underlaid by 
a heavy, retentive subsoil, recourse should be had to the myrobalan 
plum root. Some growers complain that this root has a dwarfing 
effect on the tree, but recently its use has increased. It is, however, 
not adapted to the lighter soils in which the peach root may thrive. 
The manner of securing myrobalan stocks has been described in the 
chapter on propagation. 

Apricot and Almond. — The almond should as a rule be rejected 
as a stock for the apricot. Hundreds have tried it, and found that 
the scion does not make a good union with the wood of the stock but 
is knit to it only by the bark, and is, therefore, easily broken off by 
the wind. It may grow well and sometimes gets to be two or three 
inches in diameter before it breaks off. Whole orchards worked in 
this way have been a loss and disappointment. 

A few growers, however, approve the almond and use it with the 
idea that it gives larger fruit. It has been claimed that the Royal 
apricot will take well on the almond seedling by root grafting in- 
stead of budding, using the side graft as described in Chafter IX, 
but still caution is urged against the use of the almond as a stock 
for the apricot — except by double working, growing on the almond 
seedling first a shoot from a peach bud and then working an apricot 
bud higher up in the new shoot. 

In addition to the specifications of certain stocks for different 
soils, it may be remarked, in a general way, that the apricot on a 
suitable root seems to thrive better on a tolerably heavy soil, with 
enough sand to make it work easily, than on a very light soil. It 
does well on soil rather too heavy for the peach. It also enjoys 
moisture better and gives signs of distress unless its roots are fairly 
supplied all during the season, but it dislikes standing water and 
should not be planted on undrained situations. 



CULTURAL CONDITIONS FOR THE APRICOT 217 

PLANTING THE APRICOT 

The apricot becomes a large tree in California, as has already 
been remarked, and it should be given plenty of room. Twenty-four 
feet each way is certainly the minimum distance for so large and 
long-lived tree, and some orchards have been planted at thirty feet. 
If nearer planting is done it should be with reference to subsequent 
removal of part of the trees, which, however, is very seldom done. 
Twenty feet apart, with later removal of half the trees to double the 
distance was proposed by H. D. Briggs, of Azusa, in this way : 

In setting out an orchard it seems advisable to double set the ground, as 
an apricot twelve to fifteen years old should have not less than 800 to 900 
square feet of ground. This can easily be obtained by setting 20x20 feet; 
then when nine or ten years old remove every other tree, making them forty 
feet in the row, with rows twenty feet apart, of course, taking them out 
diagonally. The trees will very quickly tell the orchardist when they are 
too thick. When the outside rows have twice the fruit of those inside it is 
quite evident that the time spent in pruning, etc., on half of the trees is worse 
than wasted. I have cut roots forty feet from a nine-year-old tree. 

The apricot makes such rapid growth and so much depends upon 
giving it proper form, as will be seen presently, that one year's 
growth it all that should be allowed in the nursery. Some growers 
would rather have a dormant bud than a two-year-old tree, and 
cases have been reported from dormant buds outgrowing yearling 
trees planted at the same time in the same orchard. But in growing 
from a dormant bud in the orchard great care should be taken to 
develop a short trunk, with properly-spaced branches, by pinching 
the side shoots near the ground. Trees started from dormant buds 
and allowed to branch from the ground, have developed very un- 
satisfactory form, and have, in some situations, lost their lower 
branches by the wind. The tree should have a low head, but a short 
trunk seems to give a better tree, and more elasticity to the branches. 

PRUNING THE APRICOT 

Of all California orchard trees, the apricot seems most in need 
of the constant attention of the orchardist to give it proper shape 
and strength. It is a rampant grower, and in its zealous haste for 
size and fruitage it over-reaches itself and becomes the prey of 
specific gravity and wind force. Thousands of trees have been 
ruined by literally breaking to pieces with the weight of their fruit, 
and being torn by winds of only ordinary velocity. Thousands more 
have been rescued from such a fate by bolting the branches to each 
other. This excessive growth and consequent weakness of the 
apricot is greater in some parts of the State than in others, because 
of the difference in degree of forcing conditions, but everywhere 
the apricot needs watchfulness and timely aid in building up its 
strength. The general principles to be observed in securing branches 
strongly attached to a short trunk have already been discussed at 
length in Chapter XJI. The adjacent engraving shows their appli- 
cation to branching the apricot. 



218 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



There has been a very marked change during the last few years 
in pruning the apricot. Summer pruning, immediately after the 
fruit is picked, has become much more general, and winter pruning 
has proportionally decreased. Young trees are winter pruned to 
promote low branching and short, stout limbs ; bearing trees are 
summer pruned to promote fruit bearing and check wood growth — 
the excess of bearing shoots being removed by thinning during the 
winter. 

The apricot tree bears upon old spurs, like the plum ; also upon 
the new wood, like the peach. This fact has to be borne in mind 
when winter thinning of the new growth is undertaken. 





Weak and strong branch-placing of apricot tree. 



A very clear record of procedure is given by J. B. Neff, of Ana- 
heim, Orange County, who built up one of the best apricot orchards 
in the State as he describes : 

Pruning the apricot requires some skill and considerable judgment. 
Trees of four to five feet in height are preferable for planting, and when 
planted should be trimmed to a single stem and cut off at eighteen inches 
from the ground. These will throw out shoots vigorously, and frequently 
two or three shoots from one point. These shoots should be thinned out, 
leaving not more than four or five, no two of which should come from one 
point, nor be directly opposite. The first shoot should start twelve inches 
from the ground, the others in such a manner as to divide the space and 
make the branches balance, leaving the top shoot to form the central part 
of the tree. 

It will be necessary to go over the trees several times the first year to 
remove shoots that may start where not wanted, but no general heading 
back should be done, as it tends to dwarf the tree; though if some of the 



PRUNING THE APRICOT 219 

limbs are making an overgrowth they should be pinched back to keep the 
head balanced. 

In the pruning of the second year, the first year's growth should be cut 
back to within five or ten inches of the body of the tree, and all forks 
should be cut out, even if it necessitates forming a new head, as it is much 
better to lose some growth on a young tree than to take the risk of split- 
ting down when the tree begins to bear fruit. 

The second year will require much more attention than the first year, in 
order to keep oflF suckers and all lateral growth that may start on the under 
side of the new limbs, the object being to make the limbs grow as nearly 
upright as possible. 

In pruning for the third year the second year's growth should now be 
cut back to within fifteen to twenty inches of the old wood, except the cen- 
tral stem, which may be left twenty-four to thirty inches long, depending 
on the number of laterals it may have thrown out. When the new shoots 
start they should again be thinned down to two or three on each limb, and 
all taken oflf that end to turn down or out at right angles, but do not take 
oflf the fruit spurs. 

During the third season's growth, go over the trees about three times 
before July to remove suckers and lateral growth that may start on the 
lower side of the limbs, as the tendency in the third year is to make an 
immense growth of downward laterals, and these must be taken oflf so as 
to develop wood that is to be left for fruit. If the orchard is on good land 
and has been properly irrigated and cultivated there will be a few speci- 
mens of the fruit the third year, and as soon as these are gathered the trees 
should be summer pruned for the first time, care being taken that the land 
shall have been allowed to become moderately dry so that the trees may be 
partially dormant. If the downward growth of the laterals has been kept 
cut oflf, all that remains to be done is to cut oflf about one-half of all this sea- 
son's growth all over the tree, using the same judgment as before with ref- 
erence to prevailing winds and symmetry of tree. If this is properly done 
and water at once turned on the orchard, a new growth will be made and 
the fruit buds for next year fully developed. 

The only pruning necessary in the following winter will be to take out 
any cross limbs and sprouts that may have been overlooked in the summer. 

After the trees begin to produce regular crops they will not grow so 
vigorously, and the numerous prunings of the first three years will not be 
necessary, as almost all can be done by summer pruning until the trees get 
so old that they need old wood taken out. 

Vase-Form With Less Shortening. — The foregoing is a careful 
outline of the method of short-cutting of the tree until it comes into 
bearing which has been generally practiced in California. There 
has always been variation in practice in the way of less shortening 
in of main branches. The following is a sketch of the way in which 
the 140-acre Losse apricot orchard in the Santa Clara Valley was 
brought to an age of twelve years and notable production : 

The trees were cut back to 15 or 18 inches when set out some ten or 
twelve years ago. Three or four main limbs were allowed to grow so as 
to balance the tree and were cut back to about three feet at the end of the 
season. About each cut end, several new "leaders" grew out and at the 
end of the season all but one of these were cut off; and it was cut back a 
little shorter than the length on which it grew. Only one new leader is 
left on each limb, because too many would shade and stunt buds inside the 
tree. 

In selecting which of many leaders to save, the upright growers are 
preferred, for the weight of fruit will make them bend over to spread the 
tree enough. But if there is a space beside that upright leader, and an- 
other limb grows close to its other side, the upright one is cut back to the 
old wood and the one projecting into space is reserved. Every effort is made 
to leave no large openings to the center of the tree; but to fill them thinly 



220 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

with fruit-bearing wood. Each leader that is left is cut back according to the 
vigor of the tree. After a dry year, or a heavy crop, it would be cut back 
shorter. 

These leaders of new wood may bloom but are not likely to set fruit 
that will mature. Their principal business is to put forth new spurs which 
will fruit the year following. Only enough opportunity for new spurs should 
be left so all that come may be vigorous enough to support the fruit that sets 
on them. New growth is left long on young trees in order to get a large 
surface for fruit bearing as soon as possible. 

The top of the tree is shaped into a hemisphere to expose a large sur- 
face to the direct sunlight, and not so thick but that sunlight may filter 
to the interior quite freely. If the interior is shaded too much, all fruit 
wood there will die. 

Mr. Losse believed that his success with the Hemskirke variety 
was due to not cutting back but simply thinning out interfering, 
surplus, or weakened branches. He expected to cut them back 
every five years severely enough to grow new wood. 

Still Longer Pruning. — Training apricots without cutting back 
and renewal of old trees which have grown too high is thus de- 
scribed* by Mr. Aratus Everett of Ventura county : 

In 1893 I set out about 150 acres three miles west of the town of Moor- 
park. This locality is subject to spring frosts. I soon noticed that the 
earliest lower blossoms were often killed by frost when those coming out 
later, say above ten feet, made a crop of fruit. 

As I never had approved of the extreme practice of close heading back 
of young trees, so I left from three to five main branches to make my trees 
and headed back and thinned out the inside branches only. 

An acquaintance of mine set out about 150 acres of apricots near Saticoy 
the same year that mine were planted. These were set on rich land. He was 
thoroughly imbuded with the extremely close cutting back system of prun- 
ing young trees. At the end of five years each main limb of my trees was 
longer than his whole tree and each of those limbs bore more fruit than his 
whole tree. From one of my best trees when it was only four years old we 
gathered over 500 pounds of fine fruit. When this tree was six years old it 
bore nearly 500 pounds of apricots (green), and it has borne heavy crops 
right along and is now (1920) in fine condition. 

When my apricot orchard was about 20 years old I had about one-quarter 
of the large limbs that were equally distant around the tree cut off about ten 
feet above the ground. A great many sprouts started at the top and some 
lower down on their limbs. By breaking olif all but five or six of these 
sprouts while they were small, the rest made a strong growth which was 
slightly headed back the next year when we cut away another quarter of the 
main limbs. This plan was repeated for five or six years as limbs too small 
to cut away the first year became large enough after four years more growth. 

My old orchard is now renewed with bearing top varying in age from one 
to five years. This orchard has often made 1,000 tons of fresh fruit of good 
quality. The trees are on apricot roots. 

Early Fall Pruning. — Fall pruning, as noted in Chapter XII, is 
the rule with the apricot where summer pruning to repress growth 
is not followed. It is done in the Santa Clara Valley in September — 
too late to start new shoots. It is held that though there is a loss 
of nourishment to the tree by early removal of green leaves, the 
early pruned trees stay green later and so perhaps make up this loss, 
besides using the energy more profitably for the grower by filling 
out the fruit buds. 



♦California Cultivator, Jan. 24, 1920. 



TO GET SIZE IN APRICOTS 221 

Winter Pruning of Bearing Trees. — The evident defect of many 
old apricot orchards is the failure of the low-bearing wood and the 
thicket of brush near the ends of long bare limbs. Such trees need 
renewal of the top by vigorous winter pruning, which should prefer- 
ably be done toward the close of the dormant season rather than 
early in the winter as formerly. Old and unprofitable trees have 
been reclaimed in this way. 

Winter pruning is still the regular method in some parts of the 
State where the conditions do not favor excessive growth of the tree 
and where summer pruning does not seem to be called for. The 
practice is to remove half or two-thirds of the new growth and thin 
out, by removing entirely enough new and old wood to prevent the 
tree from becoming thick and brushy. In shortening the bearing 
shoots it should be remembered that the larger fruits usually grow 
nearer to the tip than to the base of the shoot. 



THINNING THE APRICOT 

All free-fruiting varieties of the apricot must be thinned to secure 
size acceptable to purchasers. It is the experience of the oldest 
growers that though thinning is an expensive operation, it is very 
profitable. When half the fruit is taken off in thinning, the remain- 
der reaches as large aggregate weight as though the whole were 
allowed to mature, and thinned fruit is worth about twice as much 
per pound. Even if less weight is secured, and in most cases the 
purpose should be to get less weight, the tree is spared the exhaus- 
tion of over-bearing and the owner escapes a year of little or no 
fruit. A discussion of this subject is given in Chapter XII. 

Where conditions are favorable, the tree will set more fruit than 
it can bring to full size, and for this reason thinning or spacing the 
fruit on the twigs by hand-picking, while the fruit is about the size 
of a pigeon's egg, is almost a universal practice among the best 
commercial growers. This is necessary to bring the individual 
fruits to the diameters required by canners or overland shippers and 
which they scale in price according to size : Extras, 2^4 inches ; No. 
1, 2 inches ; No. 2, 2^^ inches. Fruit of less size is hard of sale unless 
the crop happens to be very small. It has also been found that thin- 
ning to regulate size is quite as important when the fruit is to be 
dried by the grower as when sold as fresh fruit. 



IRRIGATION OF THE APRICOT 

Whether the apricot shall be irrigated or not is answered in the 
chapter on irrigation. In many locations, with proper pruning, 
thinning and cultivation, perfectly satisfactory fruit can be grown 
with the usual rainfall. In others a single winter irrigation will 
satisfy all the needs of the tree ; in others a single irrigation just 
after fruit picking and summer pruning will carry the tree through. 
It is a fact, however, that as the trees advance in age some supple- 
ment to the average rainfall is often desirable and in dry years 



222 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

irrigation is the saving of two crops. Some idea of the amount of 
water used can be had from the chapter on irrigation. The follow- 
ing account by Mr. Neff applies to this practice in Orange County, 
which is an average situation as to rainfall and atmospheric humid- 
ity, and is as good a general statement as could be made : 

If rains are copious, winter irrigation may be dispensed with during the 
first two or three years after planting the orchard, but when the trees reach 
the age of bearing fruit the rain water should be supplemented by irrigation 
water until the soil is thoroughly wet 5 feet deep, and in order to do this, at 
least 20 inches of water, including rainfall, must be put on the land. Three 
irrigations should be given the trees during the first summer, but it is not 
necessary to wet more than a strip 5 or 6 feet wide along the tree rows. The 
orchard should have three irrigations during the second summer and a strip 
12 feet wide should be watered, as the roots are reaching farther and the tree* 
require a greater amount of water. The irrigation for the first two years 
should always be done before the trees show any want of water, so as to 
keep them going vigorously. 

All the space between the trees should be watered the third year and 
afterward; but two irrigations will be sufficient for the summer. The best 
time for the summer irrigation of bearing apricot trees is when the fruit 
is about half grown, which is usually about the second or third week in May. 

If well watered at this time the fruit grows to its largest, and has time 
to ripen slowly as the ground gradually dries, until it has all the sugar 
which will go into the fruit. An orchard in full bearing that has been well 
watered in the winter should now have as much as full 100 inches of water 
for two hours on each acre (equal to four acre-inches). 

The second irrigation should be given as soon as possible after the sum- 
mer pruning is done, in order to start the trees growing and develop the 
fruit buds for the next year. This will not require so much water as the 
irrigation in May, but ought to be as much as 100 inches of water for one 
hour on each acre. 

Winter irrigation of apricots on deep soils, as supplementary to 
rainfall and largely reducing summer irrigation, is a very satisfac- 
tory recourse in some districts. 

DISEASES OF THE APRICOT 

Though the apricot tree, as has been said, is regarded as one of 
the healthiest fruit trees, it is subject to some maladies. Trees perish 
from being set in unsuitable situations, and in these cases, if the evil 
be stagnant water in soil, or penetration to alkaline subsoil, the 
root shows it. Sometimes, however, a branch or a whole tree withers 
and dies without apparent cause early in the summer, and while the 
root is still sound. The disease is evidently acute, but its cause is 
not known, nor a remedy proposed. It is an old trouble of the 
apricot, and not peculiar to California. Such dying branches should 
be cleanly cut away. 

The so-called "gum disease" sometimes causes injury to trees. 
Some forms of gumming have recently demonstrated to be due to 
bacterial invasion. When gumming spots appear on the bark the 
best treatment is to cut away the diseased bark down to healthy 
wood during the dormant season and cover the wound with asphal- 
tum or common lead and oil paint, putting on sparingly so as not 
to flow over healthy bark. 



DISEASES OF THE APRICOT 223 

There are several troubles affecting the twigs, foliage and fruits 
which are reduced by the following preventive treatment. For 
bearing trees spray with heavy Bordeaux mixture (6-8-50) or lime 
sulphur (1-12) between November 15 and December 15, to prevent 
infection of the buds with the Coryneum (peach blight) fungus and 
also to clean up, as far as possible, the spores of this fungus and 
those of the brown rot (Monilia). During winter pruning remove 
all dead twigs and small branches and as pink-color appears in 
swelling bloom buds, spray with lime-sulphur (1-10) or with Bor- 
deaux mixture when the blossoms are opening. 

For twig injury caused by frost and generally called "sour 
sap," a heavy coating of whitewash applied about November 15 
and renewed, if necessary, during the winter, is believed to be the 
best preventive. 

There is prevalent in some districts a trouble called "black 
heart" ; a pith disease which sometimes does great injury. No treat- 
ment except that of pruning back to healthy wood has thus far 
been proposed. Root knot is also a serious trouble of the apricot as 
of several other trees. It will be considered in the chapter devoted 
to disease of fruit trees. 

Until recently the apricot has been generally free from scale in- 
sects, and it is not affected by those species which are worst on some 
other fruit trees, but recently it has been seriously infested in some 
cases with black and brown scales, which will be considered in a 
later chapter. 

The ripe apricot is sometimes seriously assailed by the diabrotica, 
a small green beetle, with twelve black spots upon its wing covers. 
Driving the insects away with smoke smudges has been used to some 
extent. Fortunately, the insect only occasionnally occurs in large 
numbers. 

VARIETIES OF THE APRICOT 

Though nearly all standard varieties of the apricot have been 
introduced and planted in this State, comparatively few are found 
on the list of the orchard planters. Many local seedlings have been 
brought to notice and propagated to some extent but finally aban- 
doned, and the disposition is to restrict planting to a few old 
varieties. 

At the conferences of the growers, canners and nurserymen in 
1920 (which has been noted in Chapter XVI), the Blenheim, Royal 
and Tilton were approved for commercial planting, Hemskirke and 
Routier's Peach additional for home orchards and Moorpark for 
drying (in locations where it does well). The canners recom- 
mended that for the coast districts 100 per cent Blenheim be 
planted, interior San Joaquin Valley 100 per cent Tilton, interior 
Sacramento Valley 50 per cent Blenheim, 50 per cent Tilton. The 
following are now commercially grown in California : 

Royal. — A French variety, for many years the leading California apricot 
and now dividing first honors with the Blenheim. Of large size (when well 
thinned out), free stone, fine color and flavor, good bearer, and fruit ripens 



224 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

evenly, when well grown; a favorite with the canners, and an excellent 
variety for drying. Fruit roundish, large, oval, slightly compressed; skin 
dull yellow with orange check, very faintly tinged with red, and a shallow 
suture; flesh pale orange, firm and juicy, with a rich vinous flavor. 

The Derby Royal is grown in the Winters district; like the standard 
Royal but two weeks earlier. 

The Barry is grown in Alameda County as an improved Royal. 

Blenheim or Shipley. — This is a valuable variety in this State, standing 
with the Royal in popularity; was described by John Rock as follows: "A 
very good variety, above medium, oval; orange, with a deep yellow, juicy 
and tolerably rich flesh; vigorous grower and regular, prolific bearer." This 
behavior of the variety was first demonstrated fully in the University or- 
chard at Berkeley, where it was for years the best of twenty varieties. It 
is now popular in all parts of the State. Fruit runs a little larger than the 
Royal, and is usually better distributed on the tree, but it must be well 
thinned. This variety has been approved by canners. Ripens a little later 
than the Royal. 

Losse Blenheim and Knobel Bleinheim are selected strains growing in 
Santa Clara Valley. . . 

Thirty years ago Royal and Blenheim were considered different varieties 
and distinguishable. At present (1921) they are propagated and sold indis- 
criminately by many nurseries, and a promological problem of original 
identity or diversity presses for solution. 

Hemskirke. — A fine English variety quite widely grown in California; 
ripens later than Royal; described by Downing as follows: "Fruit large, 
roundish, but considerably compressed or flattened on its sides; skin orange, 
with red cheek; flesh bright orange, tender, rather more juicy and sprightly 
than the Moorpark, with rich, lucious, plum-like flavor; stone not perforate, 
rather small and kernel bitter." Esteemed in California, because the tree 
is more hardy and a more regular bearer than the Moorpark, and the fruit 
ripens evenly on both sides. Sometimes drops worse than other varieties. 

Peach. — A variety from Piedmont of the largest size, about two inches in 
diameter, roundish, rather flattened, and somewhat compressed on its sides, 
with a well-marked suture; skin yellow in the shade, but deeply orange 
mottled with brown on the sunny side; flesh of a fine yellow, saffron color, 
juicy, rich, and highly flavored; stone can be penetrated like Moorpark, and 
has bitter kernel. This has been a very successful sort in the warmer parts 
of the State especially, and a favorite in the Sacramento Valley, but is now 
in less favor because of rapid ripening and inferior appearance in canning 
and drying. It ripens just ahead of the Moorpark. 

Routier's Peach. — Originated with Joseph Routier, near Sacramento. 
Large, yellow in shade; deep orange, mottled or splashed with red in the 
sun; flesh juicy and rich, high flavor and a good market variety. Blooms a 
week later than Peach. Very popular in Sacramento and San Joaquin 
Valleys. 

Moorpark. — A standard of excellence and an old variety which originated 
in England. Fruit large, roundish, about two inches and a quarter in diam- 
"eter each way; rather larger on one side of the suture than on the other; 
skin organe in the shade, but deep orange or brownish red in the sun, 
marked with numerous dark specks and dots; flesh quite firm, bright orange, 
parting free from the stone, quite juicy, with a rich and luscious flavor; 
stone peculiarly perforated along the back, where a pin may be pushed 
through; kernel bitter. In California the Moorepark reaches grand size, but 
has the fault of ripening unevenly in most localities. The tree is tender and 
bears irregularly, which leads to its rejection by most planters, though 
some growers cling to it because of its size and quality and occasional grand 
crops. The San Jose districts lead in the production of this variety, and 
in some parts of the Santa Clara Valley the Moorpark seems to ripen uni- 
formly. The same behavior is reported from localities in the upper San 
Joaquin Valley, where it also seems to be a more regular bearer. The 
variety is almost wholly rejected in Southern California. 




Plate IX. — Profuse bearing of vine by long pruning. 
(See page 311.) 



VARIETIES OF THE APRICOT 225 

Newcastle. — Originated with C. M. Silva & Son, of Newcastle, Placer 
County, in 1881; size medium, round, with spherical pit; freestone; not quite 
as large as the Royal, nor quite as rich in flavor, but more highly colored; 
rather darker on the side to the sun. Early, regular and good bearer, a 
medium grower, being more upright than the Royal. Its time of ripening has 
been reported as seventeen days earlier than the Early Golden, and twenty- 
five days earlier than the Royal, Especially profitable in Imperial Valley. 

Tilton. — Chance seedling first noticed about 1885 on place of J. E. Tilton, 
near Hanford, Kings County, and distinguished by regular bearing. Prop- 
agated and introduced by J. W. Barstow, of Hanford. Fruit large; free- 
stone; symmetrical, ripening evenly and one week to ten days later than 
Royal. Tree vigorous and prolific. Widely planted recently and very 
promising, though condemned for shy bearing in some places. Colors in 
advance of ripening and is often picked too green for best quality in drying. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE CHERRY 

Although the amount of cherries grown in this State is small as 
compared with the aggregate weights of some other fruits, the 
cherry, from the growth of the tree and the size and quality of the 
product, is entitled to rank as one of the grand fruits of California. 
The size of the California-grown cherry is a matter of pride with 
the residents, and a marvel to visitors. It is related that, many 
years ago, one of the most distinguished Eastern pomologists, who 
was taken to an Alameda County cherry orchard during picking 
time, could not recognize the varieties, though he had himself prop- 
agated and shipped to California the very trees which were bearing 
the fruit, the size of which so far surpassed all his mental standards. 
And quality is commensurate with size. Whatever disagreement 
there may be concerning the flavors of our other fruits as compared 
with Eastern, the richness and excellence of the California cherry 
has never been impeached. Recently the shipment of cherries to 
Eastern markets and the extension of the canning interest, have 
considerably enlarged the opportunity for profitable growth of the 
fruit. 

Famous Old Trees. — The longevity and productiveness of the 
cherry tree in this State is naturally of interest. Cherries that were 
planted in some of the earliest settled parts of the State are still in 
full vigor. One of the famous trees is a Black Tartarian, which was 
brought from France by Dr. L. E. Miller, and planted by him in 1854, 
on land afterwards owned by Robert Hector in Placer County, just 
below Rattlesnake Bar, on the American River, about eight hundred 
feet above sea-level. It is described as above seventy feet in height, 
the branches covering a space between seventy and seventy-five 
feet in diameter. The trunk branches about six feet above the 
ground, and at that point has a girth of over ten feet. A close record 
of its crop, kept for a number of years when the tree was over thirty 
years of age, showed that it yielded from a ton to a ton and a half 
a year. Such trees are too large to be profitable, for the fruit has 
to be picked with the aid of extension ladders securely guyed, by 
men slung in swings from such ladders or the forks of the tree. At 
last reports there were about fifty of these large trees. Other large 
trees were to be seen near Woodside, San Mateo County, and near 
Oroville and Chico in Butte County, some of which have borne a 
ton of fruit in favorable seasons. 

LOCALITIES FOR THE CHERRY 

In California there are many districts in which the cherry does 
not do well, and situations for the fruit must therefore be selected 
with discrimination. The chief product is made in the coast valleys 



LOCATIONS AND SOILS FOR CHERRIES 227 

adjacent to the Bay of San Francisco, including its extension east 
of the Coast Range, known as Suisun Bay, for in all these regions 
there is a modification of climate due to the influence of ocean tem- 
perature and moisture. Away from these influences the cherry also 
thrives on the alluvial bottoms of large rivers and their tributary 
creeks, both on the low lands of the valleys and the foothills, while 
on broad valley plains and foothill slopes it is not usually satis- 
factory. In the mountain valleys cherries also thrive in suitable 
soils which are kept reasonably moist by irrigation or cultivation 
as may be required to do it. 

How far atmospheric conditions which are beyond control in- 
fluence the growth and fruitage of the cherry, can not yet be fully 
determined, but ample trial seems to demonstrate the unsatisfactory 
character of the tree, manifested in small fruit and sunburned 
foliage, on the plains of interior valleys, although the soil is kept 
moist enough. There is, however, still the chance of securing 
varieties of the fruit which have been developed under conditions 
similar to those prevailing in the interior of California. It is claimed 
that the Russian cherries, which are largely grown in a region 
subject to high summer heat and dry air, will succeed in parts of 
California where the varieties originating in West Europe fail. 
Though this was suggested long ago, the effort has not yet been 
made to demonstrate it. 

SOILS FOR THE CHERRY 

The cherry thrives in free deep soil, in which water does not 
stand too near the surface. It delights in deep deposits from old 
water courses, and does not dislike a moderate amount of sand. A 
loam underlaid by a sandy subsoil is acceptable if it is not allowed 
to dry out in the late summer, but a loam underlaid by clay has 
shown its unfitness by the early failure of the trees, because of 
standing water in the rainy season, while those on deep loam near 
by have remained vigorous and profitable. The trees are, however, 
more resistant of too retentive soil, if a wise choice of roots is made, 
as will be discussed presently. 

On the foothills the cherry thrives in the light, mellow soil and 
fails in the tight clay either in soil or subsoil, as it does in the adobe 
of lower lands ; and yet a clay loam of no great depth upon a clay 
subsoil may grow good trees if the clay be so disposed that surplus 
water from winter rains can escape and water is at hand to guard 
against summer drouth. Commercial orchards should have a good 
depth of sufficiently retentive soil. The great cherry trees just 
mentioned are growing right on the bank of the American River, 
where the soil is a pure, sandy loam, in some places over sixty feet 
deep, as proved by an old shaft once dug near the center of the 
orchard. 

But though the cherry dislikes a wet soil, it is particular about 
its water supply and insists upon enough, its requirements being 
greater than some other trees. During the dry year 1898-99, also in 
1912-13, trees came into distress where they had never suffered 



228 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

before, and many large valuable trees died. The only new condition 
they encountered was lack of soil moisture. It thus appears that 
while the cherry is tmdoubtedly injured by excess of water in the 
soil it is still very exacting in its requirement of an adequate supply. 
If this cannot be retained in the soil by cultivation, irrigation must 
be resorted to. Thus the cherry growers in the famous Willows 
district of San Jose, usually find it an advantage to give their trees 
an irrigation between the spring rains and the ripening of the fruit, 
and another irrigation after the fruit is gathered. 

Irregularity in the moisture supply also causes the cherry to 
bloom and fruit unseasonably. There has been bloom in October 
and ripe fruit in January, due to the fact that trees became dormant 
in late summer from soil-drouth. January cherries may be evidences 
of salubrity but they betoken poor horticulture. 

These facts show that the cherry must have water enough or it 
will not succeed. Sometimes young trees which have made a good 
summer growth die outright on leachy soils which dry out before the 
fall rains begin. On the other hand, there must not be excessive 
moisture in the soil either from irrigation or by moisture. Cherry 
trees in Southern California, planted with orange trees and given 
similar irrigation, have failed utterly. Planting on naturally moist 
land in low places has also failed, and observed facts some time ago 
led to the conclusion that at the south the cherry should be planted 
on well-drained land, which could be irrigated (as the behavior of 
the tree indicated its need of water), rather than on naturally moist 
land, because of the likelihood of excessive moisture in such situa- 
tions. More recent experience has declared mellow, well-drained 
soils, of the higher lands well adapted to the cherry and on such 
soils, when well cultivated, cherries have done well with little irri- 
gation at Pasadena, Pomona and elsewhere. The commercial cherry 
product of Southern California comes, however, from mountain val- 
leys and high plateaux — the chief regions being the Yacaipa Valley 
and the Beaumont District in San Bernardino County, the Mesa 
Grande region in the interior of San Diego County, and other sec- 
tions with similar conditions. 

In California, as elsewhere, the Dukes and Morellos may succeed 
where the Hearts and Bigarreaux fail. The May Duke seems espe- 
cially hardy, and bears well in Nevada, where other sorts fail utterly. 

Delayed Fruiting of Cherry Trees, — Though the cherry in favor- 
able situations bears early, the grower, especially on strong, rich 
lands, will often have many years of disappointment from falling 
blossoms and fruit. During this time the trees will be making mar- 
velous wood growth, and this apparently suppresses the fruiting 
function. Usually these trees will ultimately bear when their ex- 
uberant growth declines. They can be thrown into fruit sooner by 
allowing the trees to go uncultivated, or by root pruning, through 
digging a trench around about eight feet from the tree, and severing 
the roots thus encountered, or by summer pruning. Because of this 
over-growth, growers give such strong soil to the apple or the pear 
rather than the cherry. Sometimes the non-bearing of the cherry is 



CHERRIES NEED THE BEES 229 

inexplicable. Though everything seems to be right, and the blos- 
soms are profuse, the fruit will not stick. 

CROSS-POLLINATION OF CHERRIES 

Lack of bearing is often due to improper association of varieties 
in planting. Experiments in cross-pollination of cherry varieties 
were conducted from 1916 to 1920 in several cherry districts, under 
direction of Dr. W. L. Howard of the University of California. The 
following is an outline of observations : 

The Black Tartarian, Burr's Seedling, Pontiac, Black Republican, Rock- 
port and Governor Wood will pollinate with the Royal Ann, and the Royal 
Ann will pollinate the Pontiac. 

The Black Tartarian, Burr's Seedling, Royal Ann and Governor Wood 
varieties may be used with the Rockport. 

The Black Tartarian and Pontiac may be used on the Bing and the Black 
Tartarian pollinates the Advance. 

Black Tartarian and Black Republican cross well, the former being also 
the best pollenizer for the Purple Guigne, Chapman, Advance and Black- 
heart. 

Black Tartarian and Pontiac cross the Lambert, the former being pref- 
erable. Royal Ann's best performance was with Pontiac. 

It is fortunate that the few cherry varieties which are commer- 
cially grown in California will cross-pollinate each other, and the 
planter need not have recourse to several varieties named above 
which are of no commercial account. These are, however, desirable 
as garden cherries for amateur planting. 

There is full demonstration that keeping bees in the vicinity of 
cherry orchards has increased the bearing. But varieties must be 
provided which will act as cross-pollinizers. 

EXPOSURES FOR THE CHERRY 

Exposures for the cherry are chosen both with reference to pro- 
tection from frost injury and to early ripening of the fruit. The 
cherry blooms early ; though hardly as venturesome as the apricot 
and almond. In protected situations, guarded from cold northerly 
winds, and open to sunshine on the south and southeast, the fruit 
advances to maturity very rapidly. In Vaca Valley about a month 
of good weather after the blossoming will ripen an early cherry and 
ripe cherries have been shipped as early as March 3L The pioneer 
cherry growers of Vaca Valley went there from old homes in 
Napa Valley, because they could gather and market cherries in their 
new locations before the same varieties were ripe in Napa Valley. 
They chose places protected on the north and west by steep hills. 
The two things to secure are, apparently, protection from the sweep 
of cold winds and elevation above the deposits of cold air, which 
occur in depressed places. 

In localities where fruit ripens late, as near the coast, there is 
no need to seek forcing conditions, for the extra early varieties 
should not be planted except for family use. Early varieties are 



230 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

comparatively poor in quality, and will not sell profitably, as they 
will reach the market alongside the better later sorts from earlier 
districts. The places for the cherry in the later districts is on the 
most proper soil, according to the requirements which have been 
laid down, avoiding, however, so far as possible, wind-swept spots, 
and seeking amelioration of direct ocean influences by elevation or 
intervention of hills and windbreaks. 



PROPAGATION AND PLANTING THE CHERRY 

In the chapter on propagation is given a successful method of 
growing cherry seedlings. About three-fourths of California cherry 
trees are propagated by budding on seedlings of the Black Mazzard. 
The Mahaleb root is still more hardy than the Mazzard and is less 
subject to injury by standing water in the soil during the winter 
season. It is also more hardy against injury in summer drouth on 
shallow soils, which is one of the causes of die-back of the cherry 
tree in some parts of the State. While there may be particular places 
in which the Mahaleb is the better root, the conclusions of fifty years' 
experience in California cherry growing, which approve the Maz- 
zard, are on the whole trustworthy. The Mazzard is a better grower 
and, where moisture conditions are fairly good, leaves little to be 
desired. The Mahaleb, however, though credited with a dwarfing 
influence, does make a good-sized tree under our conditions. It 
seems a fair general conclusion that Mazzard roots make larger 
trees, but Mahaleb roots make hardier trees which bear younger. 
The Mahaleb is more popular in the interior than in the coast 
valleys. 

The planting of the cherry is covered by the general considera- 
tions already given for the planting of orchards. The distance which 
cherries should be set apart is a disputed point among planters. 
When planted twenty feet apart the trees have interlaced their 
branches when sixteen years old, and the spaces between the rows 
have been covered in like colonnades. In the Hayward region the 
branches of twelve-year-old trees set twenty-eight feet apart have 
nearly reached the other, though continually cut back. Much de- 
pends in the matter of distance upon the manner of handling the 
trees. The trees can be grown much nearer together by continuous 
pruning than where the usual way of cutting back for the first few 
years and letting the tree take its natural growth after that, is fol- 
lowed. James E. Gedney, of Mesa Grande, San Diego County, 
practiced close planting and cutting back which may work better 
on his upland than on deeper, moister soils. He says : 

I plant my trees twenty feet apart each way. My method is to plant thus 
closely and then keep my trees low, by cutting back every year; this facili- 
tates gathering the fruit very much. I prefer this way to setting the trees 
farther apart and allowing them to attain too great a height. By the former 
method I secure fully as good, if not better, results per acre, to say nothing 
of the difference in gathering the fruit. Another advantage in keeping the 
trees headed low is that the wind does not aflfect them nearly as much as 
it does tall trees. 



PRUNING THE CHERRY 231 

The best distances are 24 or 28 feet on such deep soils as have 
been described as best befitting the tree and, though one may fix his 
distance in planting according to the method of pruning he pro- 
poses to follow, he should remember that the cherry is naturally a 
large tree, and most old orchards are now over-crowded. 

As with other trees, orchard planters prefer trees with one year's 
growth on the bud in the nursery, because they usually get, then, a 
straight switch with well developed buds all the way down, and the 
head can be formed as desired. For garden planting, older trees, 
properly pruned in the nursery, can be used to advantage. 

PRUNING THE CHERRY 

All our best growers agree in the advantage of a low head for 
the cherry, and all aim to have trunks of young trees from the 
ground up to the limbs literally covered all around with leaves, 
which completely shelter the bark from the rays of the sun. In 
planting, therefore, the side buds are carefully preserved — not to be 
grown into branches, but to be cut or pinched back when they have 
come out a few inches, leaving just growth enough to clothe the 
tree with a covering of its own foliage. These spurs not only furnish 
leaves to shade the trunk, but soon become fruit spurs, and bear well. 

Low Heading with a Central Stem. — Some of the trees in the 
older orchards have been shaped by carrying up a leader with a 
regular system of side branches. Head back at planting to two feet, 
pinching of? the shoots below the head as stated, and allowing the 
shoots which form the head to grow larger, but they, too, are all to 
be pinched except the leader, which is allowed to grow as long as 
it pleases during the summer. During fall or winter pruning cut 
back the leader to about twelve or sixteen inches from its starting 
point and cut back the side branches to about six or eight inches. 
This is done year after year, cutting back and pruning out the 
side shoots, pinching the laterals, and allowing the leader to grow, 
never interfering with it until the winter pruning and always letting 
it predominate over the side shoots. By cutting short, wood is in- 
creased, but at the end of six years the tree goes into fruit very 
rapidly. As the tree increases in fruit it decreases in wood, and by 
the time it is ten or twelve years old there will be but little cutting 
to do, except to shorten in and thin out, and this requires some 
judgment and experience, to know where to cut, and when to cut. 
To shorten in, never cut down to an old fruit spur. It is very dif- 
ficult to get healthy wood out of such ; but whenever you can find 
last year's wood, there you can cut with safety anything that is less 
than one inch in diameter. 

This system of pruning must be accompanied by constant pinch- 
ing during the summer time. It should commence when the lower 
shoots are about six inches long, and be followed up closely all 
through the growing season. Those on the trunk should never get 
longer than eight or ten inches, under any circumstances. After 
these are pinched, let the trees rest ten or fifteen days, or until the 



232 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

branches in the top get a good start. Then pinch everything clean 
but the leader, in every main branch in the tree. The leader takes 
its own way all through the growing season, to prevent the effects 
of over-pinching or checking the growth. If only the side shoots are 
kept back, the leader or head of the branches receives the current or 
flow of sap and maintains and carries on life and vitality in the 
tree. One object in pinching or spur pruning is to keep back sur- 
plus wood and create fruit spurs, throwing all the little twigs and 
branches into fruit, thereby utilizing all the wood the tree can pro- 
duce, not allowing it to grow at the tree's expense, and then have to 
cut it off. And another object in side-shoot pruning is to make the 
tree produce fine large cherries, all closely nestling around the big 
wood, and no long, slim branches hanging down like weeping willow. 
This method is commended to those who like a tree with a cen- 
tral leader and are willing to give their orchards such constant 
attention. Unless pinching and consequent multiplication of shoots 
and foliage is fathfuUy followed such a tree is apt to become tall 
and rangy and to expose the bark all the way up to sunburn and 
borers. 

THE USUAL METHOD OF PRUNING THE CHERRY 

As has been said, all cherry growers agree on low heading and 
on the advantage of pinching the lowest shoots as soon as they make 
a bunch of leaves. In forming the head, and in after treatment, the 
usual method is quite different from that we have described. It fol- 
lows the vase or goblet form, which has been discussed at length in 
the chapter on pruning. Of the application of this method to the 
cherry, W. W. Smith, in an address before the State Horticultural 
Society, said : 

The cherry may be pruned the same as any other deciduous fruit tree 
until it is about five years old; after that the less pruning the better, except 
when necessary to cut out a dead or crossing branch. Pruning the cherry 
is more or less likely to produce gum (and this, decay) and should be avoid- 
ed as much as possible. Cherry trees, however, should be trained with low 
heads not to exceed eighteen inches from the ground to the first branches; 
fifteen inches is better. From three to five branches are enough to form the 
head of the tree; all others should be removed early. Three are better than 
five; two make a forked tree, which is likely to split in after years. 

At the end of the first season we have a neat little tree with three to five 
branches. During the following winter these branches should be cut back 
to six to eight inches. The next season these should be allowed to produce 
two branches each (no more); then, at the end of the second season from 
planting out, we have a tree with from six to ten branches. The following 
winter the new growth should be cut back again to from twelve to eighteen 
inches — according to the amount of growth the tree makes — the less the 
growth the more you cut. The same process should be repeated the follow- 
ing winter, treating each branch as an individual tree, until the tree is about 
five years old; it takes at least five years to get the head of a cherry well 
established. After this, as some varieties will persist in throwing out branches 
near the ground, they should be removed during the summer. At this age 
the tree, if well grown, will have top enough to shade its body from the sun, 
and there is no further need of branches on the main trunk. 

If necessary to remove large branches it should be done in midsummer, 
as that is the only season when the gum is not more or less exuded. We 



DISEASES OF THE CHERRY 233 

made it a rule to go over and dress up and prune out cherry orchard, im- 
mediately after the crop is gathered — which in our part of the State is the 
last of May. All wounds made then by the removal of branches or other- 
wise will heal over the same season. All large wounds made at any time, 
however, should be coated over with paint. 

The method thus described by Mr. Smith is that by which prob- 
ably nine-tenths of the cherry trees of this State are shaped. 

In selecting the shoots to form the head of the young tree they 
should be as far apart as possible on the short stem and on different 
sides, as explained in detail in Chapter XII. It is especially desir- 
able to avoid the basin which is so often formed in old cherry trees 
by growth of three or four main limbs closing up to form a central 
cavity, which will be discussed on a following page. 

In the cherry tree there should be the same observation as to 
cutting inside and outside buds as with other trees ; in fact, the out- 
side bud is the rule, because so many varieties make a directly 
upward growth. In removing limbs, cutting to the collar or swell- 
ing at the base of the limb is especially important, also the covering 
of the wound to prevent checking of the wood. 

GRAFTING OVER THE CHERRY 

Since canning of cherries began on a large scale, there has been 
a vastly increased demand for white cherries. The Royal Ann (a 
local name for Napoleon Bigarreau) has been the favorite. Other 
white storts are also used for canning. This rise in favor of the white 
cherries has vastly increased their proportionate production as 
compared with the choice black and red varieties, which are still 
popular as a table fruit. 

It is the experience of growers that the cherry is grafted over as 
easily as the pear or apple, if the tree is healthy. In large trees as 
many as fifty or one hundred grafts may be set, choosing the smaller 
limbs, even if you have to go pretty high in the tree. J. W. Cassidy, 
of Petaluma, used to advise grafting before the sap begins to flow 
in the winter, or if not done then, wait until the buds are well ad- 
vanced or the tree in bloom. He had trees which were over thirty 
years old before they were re-headed, and they made fine tops of 
new and healthy wood, and produced abundantly. The cherry is 
grafted by the usual top-grafting methods described in Chapter ^X. 

PESTS AND DISEASES OF THE CHERRY 

The disease of the cherry which is most heard of is the "gum," 
or overflow and condensation of sap, which, if left to itself, often 
induces decay of adjacent bark and wood. Without attempting to 
explain the causes of the unhealthy exudations, which are several, 
it may be said that prompt treatment of certain manifestations is 
desirable, and in others the tree should be cleansed from the flow. 
Where the gum exudes on the side of trunk or limb, the thin outer 
bark should be pared away with a sharp knife, the accumulation of 
gum and sap removed, and the wound painted with asphaltum or 
lead and oil paint, or covered with grafting wax. A rational treat- 



234 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



ment of infectious gumming of the cherry, studied closely by Prof. 
H. P. Barss, of the Oregon Agricultural College, is as follows : 

The disease starts out late in winter, enlarging old cankers and becom- 
ing a source of new infection. It is caused by organisms which live over 
winter in the discolored bark at the edges of the old cankers. The gumming 
is simply incidental and is not always noticeable, neither does gumming 
always indicate the disease. The only remedy is to cut all the bark and wood 
close to the disease, taking enough to be sure to get all the organisms newly 
working in bark not yet discolored. Then wash with a 1 to 1000 solution of 
corrosive sublimate prepared under direction of the druggist who sells the 
tablets, and apply pruning paint or white lead mixed with raw (not boiled) 
linseed oil. Close watch through the spring and summer for new cankers or 
blighted spurs and twigs will probably reveal some to be cut out. Always 





Twelve-year-old cherry trees with acute and wide angled crotches. 



dip cutting tools in the sublimate solution, which is deadly poison to bacteria 
and human begins. The disease on twigs and branches is easily handled 
without great loss by cutting them out. 

Gum in the crotch should be cleanly brushed out when softened 
by the winter rains. If allowed to remain, it becomes sour and 
offensive and may injure the tree. In places where two or three 
Hmbs come out closely together a kind of cup is formed (as just 
mentioned in the discussion of pruning), which will hold the gum 
from one year's end to another, and in its soft state, leaves, sticks, 
cherry pits, dust, and dirt will stock and hang and sometimes the 
mass becomes very foul. By this collection also, a nest is made for 
all manner of insects, bugs and worms. Another evil in letting the 
gum stay on is, if the rain does not wash it off clean, it runs down 
the trunk of the tree and makes the bark look bad, and if it is very 
thick on the bark when it dries, it will contract and crack the bark 
crosswise, and is very injurious to the tree. 



IRRIGATION OF CHERRIES 235 

Gumming in the crotch can be largely avoided by starting the 
young cherry tree as advocated in the chapter on pruning. Branches 
which emerge from the trunk at separate points and at wide angles 
seldom gum ; those which are crowded together or emerge at acute 
angles gum badly, as suggested by the adjacent engraving. In 
shaping young trees a gumming joint sometimes may be clearly 
cut out and those branches selected to remain which start out at a 
wider angle ; in older trees there is nothing to do but keep the fork 
clean, as already described. 

There are cases reported in which gumming of old trees has 
been stopped by allowing the ground to lie uncultivated, weeds 
being cut down with the hoe. As a rule, however, the cherry thrives 
with good cultivation. 

Die-back of the Cherry. — The dying back of cherry branches is 
more or less common in all regions, and the immediate cause thereof 
is not known. It is apparently sometimes a root trouble, as is the 
dying back of other fruit trees. This might have resulted from 
standing water in the winter in the soil, although the same condition 
may result from lack of sufficient moisture during the late summer 
and autumn. Anything which causes the destruction of the root 
hairs is apt to cause die-back and other forms of unthrift in the top. 
Early vegetative activity in the branch, followed by frost, seems also 
to occasion die-back in some cases. Fortunately, this can occur 
without injury to the rest of the tree, though it is sometimes and in 
some places destructive to the tree in the end. The only treatment 
is removal of the affected wood, and this should be done during the 
growing season, as soon as signs of injury appear. 

The Gopher. — One of the most dangerous foes of the cherry is 
the gopher, for he seldom takes less than the whole tree, young or 
old. Traces of his presence should be constantly watched for, and 
killing methods described in a later chapter adopted. If a tree is. 
seen to wit suddenly, the proability is that a gopher has girdled 
it. Covering the wound sometimes saves the tree, but not usually. 

Insects injuring the cherry will be mentioned in a subsequent 
chapter. 

IRRIGATION OF THE CHERRY 

As already stated, the cherry is very sensitive to drying out of 
the soil and should be protected against it by irrigation when neces- 
sary. In the chief cherry regions the local rainfall is sufficient to 
mature the crop, and the stress comes later in the season. In that 
case a good irrigation after the fruit is gathered may be quite 
enough to keep the tree growing until the fruit buds for the fol- 
lowing year are plumped out well. If not, as learned by local ob- 
servation, a late summer irrigation must be given. Where regular 
irrigation is required, it is usual to irrigate every four weeks after 
dry weather comes on, until just before the fruit begins to color at 
two-thirds of full size. This makes the cherries fill out ; but no more 
water is given until after picking, as that would make the fruit too 



236 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

soft to carry well. Fall irrigation is continued as required by local 
conditions to keep the foliage active sufficiently late in the season. 

VARIETIES OF CHERRY 

Many varieties of the cherry have been tested in this State, and 
many have been abandoned from one cause or another. The claims 
to value upon \vhich a variety is judged are several : Extra earli- 
ness, an important consideration in early districts for shipment, and 
elsewhere for local sale or family use ; firmness to withstand mechan- 
ical injury by jarring in transit and durability to escape decay 
during the long journey to distant markets ; firmness and fixed solor 
to stand processing in the cannery, and to prevent coloring the juice ; 
lateness to extend the cherry season. 

In classification of cherries it was originally considered that 
there were four classes of cherries. The Hearts were the tender and 
half-tender sweet cherries, while the Bigarreaux were the firm- 
fleshed ones ; but these have been so intermingled and blended 
together by hybridization that no distinct line can now be drawn 
separating them. There is really but one class of these, whose main 
characteristic is the large, vigorous growth of the tree. The Duke 
and Morello cherries, also wanting a natural division, really con- 
stitute but one class. 

The cherries chiefly grown for fruit shipping and for sale to 
canners are enumerated in Chapter XVI. The following list in- 
cludes the varieties commended for propagation by the 1920 con- 
ferences of growers, canners and nurserymen : Bing, Black 
Tartarian, Burbank, Chapman, Lambert, Black Oregon, Royal Ann, 
Gov. Wood, Montmarency (sour). Centennial and Giant were 
added for home orchards. 

BIGARREAUX AND HEARTS 

Early Purple Guigne. — Small to medium size; purple; tender, juicy, and 
sweet. This variety is being displaced by Chapman and Burbank. 

Knight's Early Black. — "Large, black, tender, juicy, rich, and excellent; 
high flavor; a shy bearer until the trees attain age." 

Rockport Bigarreau. — Large, pale amber in the shade, light red in the 
sun; half tender, sweet and good; a very excellent and handsome cherry; 
good bearer; formerly esteemed for canning and shipping. Declining in 
favor. 

Cleveland Bigarreau. — A thrifty, strong, spreading grower, and produc- 
tive large; clear red and yellow; juicy, sweet, and rich. 

Black Tartarian. — Fruit of the largest size, bright purplish black. Flesh 
purplish, thick, juicy, very rich and delicious. Tree a remarkably vigorous 
erect, and beautiful grower, and an immense bearer; the best of the black 
cherries. 

Governor Wood. — Large; light yellow shaded with bright red; flesh 
nearly tender, juicy, sweet, rich and delicious; a vigorous grower and very 
productive. Increasing in favor. 

Black Eagle. — A very excellent English variety, ripening in June; large 
size, deep purple, or nearly black; flesh deep purple, tender, with a rich, 
high-flavored juice. 

Mezel, Monstreuses de (Great Bigarreau). — A foreign variety of the 
largest size; dark red or quite black; firm and juicy; late. 



VARIETIES OF THE CHERRY 237 

Pontiac. — Large; dark purplish red; half tender, juicy, and agreeable. 

Napoleon Bigarreau (Royal Ann). — A magnificent cherry of the largest 
size; pale yellow, becoming amber in shade, richly dotted and spotted with 
deep red, and with a bright red cheek; flesh very firm, juicy and sweet. Tree 
a free grower and an enormous bearer, when properly pollinated. The great 
commercial cherry of California. 

DUKES AND MORELLOS 

Early Richmond (Kentish). — An early red, acid cherry; valuable for 
cooking early in the season. 

May Duke. — An old, well-known, excellent variety; large, dark red, 
juicy, subacid, rich. 

English Morello. — Large, dark red, nearly black; tender, juicy, rich, acid, 
productive and late. 

Belle Magnifique. — Fruit large, roundish, inclined to heart-shape; skin a 
fine bright red; flesh juicy, tender, with sprightly subacid flavor; one of the 
best of its class; a fine table fruit when fully ripe. 

Montmorency. — Fruit large, roundish ovate, reddish amber; flesh tender, 
mildly acid, uncolored; the choice of canners for a sour cherry. 

PACIFIC COAST SEEDLINGS 

California Advance. — Large, black and earlj'. Introduced by Leonard 
Coates. 

Chapman. — A seedling of Black Tartarian; very early; black; sweet, and 
a great bearer. Introduced by Leonard Coates. Chaining in favor. 

Early Burbank. — Originated by Luther Burbank; a seedling of Early 
Purple Guigne and sold in 1903 to a group of Vacaville growers. Very early, 
earlier than its parent variety. Large, rich deep crimson, resembling Black 
Tartarian in quality. Tree medium upright grower, large leaves, prolific. 

Lewelling — Black Republican (Black Oregon). — "Seedling by Seth Lewel- 
ling, Milwaukee, Oregon, from seed planted in 1860; first fruited in orchard 
in 1864. Widely distributed in California. Large, black, sweet, with purple 
flesh; ripens ten days after Black Tartarian." — James Shinn. "Large, late 
black cherry, good flavor, long keeper; dries and ships well. Seems to 
succeeds better on foothills than in the valley." — Robert Williamson. "Sup- 
posed to be a cross between Napoleon Bigarreau and Black Tartarian, hav- 
ing the solid flesh of the former and the color of the latter; very late." — 
John Rock. "I am of the opinion that the Black Republican and Lincoln 
came down from the seed of the Black Eagle, but I have little idea of what 
variety they were crossed with." — Seth Lewelling. 

Bing. — Originated by Seth Lewelling, from seed of Black Republican. 
"Fruit large, dark brown or black, very fine, late; a good shipping variety." — 
Seth Lewelling. Tree vigorous, and foliage heavy. Fruit ripens so that 
trees can be cleaned at one picking. 

Centennial. — A seedling of Napoleon Bigarreau, raised by Mr. Henry 
Chapman in Napa Valley, and fruited by him for the first time in 1876. 
Propagated and introduced by Leonard Coates, then of Napa, in 1885. It is 
larger than its parent, more oblate in form, and beautifully marbled and 
splashed with crimson on a pale yellow ground; exceptionally sweet and of 
remarkable keeping quality. Little planted recently, because of superiority 
of Ro3-aI Ann for canning; commended for family orchards. 

Lambert. — Seedling of J. H. Lambert, Milwaukee, Oregon, 1887; pre- 
sented to Oregon State Horticultural Society; right to propagate sold to 
Oregon Nursery Co., 1896, and introduced by this company; very large, 
roundish, heart-shaped; stem long, slender, suture medium depth, acid; 
smooth, glossy, dark purplish, flesh dark purplish red, firm, flavor rich, 
quality good. Ripens ten days to two weeks after Black Tartarian. 



CHAPTER XX 



THE PEACH 



From the first years of the American occupation for about forty 
years the peach was the leading deciduous fruit grown in California. 
In the later '90s grain and other field products were low priced and 
people were told that cured prunes could be put up in sacks more 
cheaply than wheat. So they took to planting prune orchards all 
through the wheat districts of the great valley, and even carried 
the trees where no one would think of planting wheat — cutting up 
shallow-clay upland sheep pastures and even yucca sand wastes 
into prune-growing colonies. Figures of prune trees in orchards 
rushed far beyond the peach figures. This over-planting of prunes 
naturally brought loss and disappointment, and interest turned 
again to peach planting, so that in 1907 the peach had secured 
notable advance beyond the prune. The peach held the leadership 
until 1915 when the demand for dried peaches fell below the cost of 
production, planting was arrested and some orchards sacrificed. 
The situation was, however, radically changed in 1917 by the organ- 
ization of the peach-growers' association and by the rapid advance 
of prices under such control. Still as the prune experienced no 
such set-back planting proceeded and the relation of the two fruits 
in 1920 is shown in Chapter VI. It is, however, not at all certain 
that the peach will not regain ascendancy over the prune. Still, 
although the peach now stands below the prune in California pro- 
duction, the California peach still has national leadership, for the 
report of peach production in 1918, by the Bureau of Crop Esti- 
mates of the United States Department of Agriculture, placed the 
national product of peaches in 1919 at 29,461,000 bushels, of which 
California produced 16,268,000 bushels — or 3,000,000 bushels more 
than all other states combined. 

The peach was the first fruit to ripen on the improved trees 
brought here by the early American settlers, and the magnificence 
of the peach was consequently the key-note of the refrain which 
greeted the ears of the world in which the California gold cry was 
ringing early in the fifties. In fact, the gold from the mine and the 
gold from the tree were very nearly related. In old Coloma, where 
gold was discovered, there was a peach tree which bore four hun- 
dred and fifty peaches in 1854, which sold for $3.00 each, or $1,350 
for the crop of one tree, and in 1855, six trees bore one thousand 
one hundred peaches, which sold for $1.00 each. Some of these 
pioneer trees are said to be still living and bearing fruit. 

LONGEVITY OF THE PEACH IN CALIFORNIA 

There are many other facts to establish the claim that the peach 
tree, if planted in a suitable soil and situation and cared for with 
any devotion and skill, is not a short-lived tree in California. Cali- 



THE PEACH IN CALIFORNIA 239 

fornia is too young to mark limits of duration, but there are in- 
stances in the earliest-settled places in the State, where peach trees 
above fifty years old are still vigorous and productive. Some trees 
have, in fact, gone along in thrift until they have a bark below which 
looks like that of a forest tree, and framework of main branches 
sound and stalwart throughout because they have never been 
allowed to sunburn until protected by their own roughness, and 
have never been pruned with an axe, and never lost a limb nor had 
a wound into which decay could penetrate and descend to the root. 
When the peach has a fair chance in its aerial parts and is in a soil 
which favors health of the roots, it shows itself to be very long- 
lived in California. When trees break to pieces and show decay 
wounds, they are in bad places, and have suffered through natural 
stress or have been weakened by cultural errors. 

Renewal by Cutting Back. — In favorable soils the peach is 
stronger and longer lived in the root than in the top, and some- 
times triumphs over neglect by discarding old, wind-broken, sun- 
burned and bark-bound branches, and forms a new head of its own. 
Such renewal is sometimes very rapid. In the interior valley new 
shoots on a cut-back Muir tree have grown twelve feet in one sea- 
son, with a thickness of one and one-half inches at the base. Such 
shoots will bear the following summer and proper selection should 
be made from them to shape the new tree — all others being removed. 
Cutting back for a new head kills some trees, probably those which 
through hardship are weak in the root, but most peach trees take 
to it kindly. This is generally done by heading back all the limbs 
to a foot or two from their start from the trunk in the latter part 
of the dormant season and whitewashing the stumps thoroughly. 
Some growers advocate a gradual renewal, cutting back one main 
branch a year so that the loss of a crop may not occur. Peach trees 
are also cut back for grafting or budding over, as will be described 
presently. 

It is through this disposition to renewal of good wood that the 
intelligent system of pruning which is now prevalent, ministers to 
the longevity as well as the profitability of the tree, aiding it to 
constantly renew its youth by restraining its exuberance, and at the 
same time furnishing it sound new wood on which to grow its fruit 
foliage. But while these are facts, there is some difference in 
opinion as to the point at which an old tree becomes less valuable 
than a young one. Along the Sacramento River some count about 
a dozen good crops as the limit, and thus replace the trees when 
about fifteen years of age. This is a point which may vary greatly, 
according to local conditions. 

Early Productiveness. — Quite as important as the longevity of 
the peach tree are the facts of its rapid growth and early produc- 
tiveness. It is the first of our fruit trees to attain size and yield a 
profitable crop. In localities best suited to its growth it will mature 
some fruit the second summer in the orchard if the small shoots are 
not pruned away from the main branches, and during the third 
summer averages of forty to fifty pounds per tree have been secured 



240 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

from considerable acreages. These facts are stated to show what 
the peach of good variety may do in a good situation and soil and 
with the best of care. Of course they are not to be taken as average 
results, although greater than those given are sometimes attained. 
For example, on the rich, alluvial land near Visalia, an Admiral 
Dewey yearling tree planted in March, 1904, had in October, 1905, 
attained these dimensions : Near the ground the trunk was eleven 
and three-quarter inches in circumferences, branching two feet from 
the ground it had four main branches, each seven inches in circum- 
ference ; height of tree, twelve feet ; spread of branches, ten feet. 
It grew near a crack in a cement ditch and so had all the moisture 
it could use, and being in a free, open soil was not impaired by 
standing water. 

As for possible productiveness of the peach, one Susquehanna 
tree in Kern County yielded twenty-seven forty-five pound picking- 
boxes — twelve hundred and fifty pounds in one crop — about four 
times as much as good trees may average. 

LOCALITIES FOR THE PEACH 

The peach has a wide range in California, and finds many dis- 
tricts suited to it in the several ways in which the trade delights in 
it. As compared with the apricot, the peach thrives in the sheltered 
valleys of the district north of the bay and west of the Coast Range, 
in which the apricot is of little commercial moment ; it yields those 
peerlessly beautiful "mountain peaches" from one to two thousand 
feet higher in the Sierra foothills than the apricot can be trusted ; it 
goes everywhere in the lower foothills and over the great valleys 
that the apricot will go, and beyond it also, because it is less restless 
in the spring and escapes some frosts which injure apricots. 
Counted from trees in orchard the peach is about three times as 
great as the apricot. 

Nearly every county in California reports the possession of peach 
trees. Above an elevation of four thousand feet on the sides of the 
Sierra Nevada, they may be subject to winter killing, and lower still 
the careful choice of situation has to be made to avoid frost at 
blooming time — the peach in such places being subjected to some 
dangers which beset it in the Eastern States. Below these points, 
however, lies the great fruit belt of the foothills of the Sierra, where 
the peach is the chief fruit grown and its excellence is proverbial. 
Size, beauty, richness, delicacy of flavor and firmness, which endures 
carriage to the most distant markets, are all characteristics of the 
foothill peaches of California. 

In the great interior valleys of the State wherever proper con- 
dition of soil and water supply can be found, the peach also thrives, 
the tree making a wonderfully quick and large growth, and the 
fruit attaining great size. The San Joaquin Valley is the greatest 
peach district in the State. 

In the small valleys on the west of the great valley and on the 
eastern slope of the Coast Range, there are also extensive areas 
suited to the peach, and sheltered places on the eastern and western 



LOCATIONS FOR THE PEACH 241 

edges of the Sacramento Valley have produced the earliest fruit for 
a long series of years. Recently the contest for the earliest fruit 
of these districts, with the foothill district on the east side of the 
Sacramento Valley and special locations in the upper San Joaquin 
Valley, has been quite close. 

In the coast valleys, opening upon San Francisco Bay and the 
Pacific Ocean, the peach is also a leading fruit. Its success is great- 
est, however, where good shelter is had from direct coast influences. 
Even where open to these influences, good peaches can be grown by 
choosing the smaller range of varieties, which do well by protecting 
the trees from harsh winds, and by seeking elevation above de- 
pressed valleys, whose frosts are frequent. The occurrence of curl- 
leaf is a factor of much importance, which will be considered pres- 
ently. In the coast counties north of the Russian River Valley the 
danger to the peach from unfavorable atmospheric conditions in- 
crease as one goes northward, and situations must be chosen with 
greater care. And yet by such exercise of care, peaches for home 
use and local markets can be successfully grown. 

South of San Francisco Bay the coast influences soften as you 
proceed southward, and the peach draws nearer to the ocean, choos- 
ing, however, elevations and avoiding broad, wind-swept areas and 
narrow defiles where drafts and fogs are frequent. At considerable 
elevations, as on the Santa Cruz Mountains, some varieties of 
peaches are notably excellent. The general rule holds with the peach, 
as with other fruits, that coast influences retard ripening and the 
season of the fruit is late. 

In some valleys and at elevations in Southern California the 
peach is largely grown and high excellence attained while on the 
mesas and plains there is often too high a temperature which starts 
growth out of season and follows with a dormacy and die-back when 
the tree ought to be most active. It has recently been demon- 
strated that varieties like Luken's Honey, descended from the Peen- 
to or flat peach of China, resists such irregularities better than the 
common sorts which are largely of Persian origin. 

SOILS AND EXPOSURES FOR THE PEACH 

Though the suitability of soils for the peach can be somewhat 
extended by the choice of stock for budding upon, as will be con- 
sidered presently, its range of soils is narrower than that of the 
apricot. The best peach soils are light, deep, sandy loams, rather 
dry than moist, but under all circumstances well drained. It will 
thrive on land with a considerable mixture of coarse sand or gravel, 
providing it contains also needed elements of fertility ; for the rapid 
growth and heavy fruitage of the peach requires abundant nutrition. 
Though it accepts coarse materials both in soil and subsoil, it 
relishes fine sediment and perhaps finds no more congenial location 
than in the deep, sandy loam, or sedimentary deposit bordering the 
creek beds of our warm valleys, and will send its roots deep to 
secure long life and abundant fruitage. Such soils, whether along 



242 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

existing streams or deposited by prehistoric water courses, which 
have left their mark by the elevated ridges of rich sediment above 
the prevailing valley soils, are warm, deep, and thoroughly drained, 
and delight the peach. Peaches are grown very successfully on 
what is called hardpan in some parts of Fresno County, providing 
the hardpan is blasted as described in Chapter XI. In these situa- 
tions the hardpan is near the surface and has a deep free soil below 
it into which the roots can extend. 

At elevations on the hillsides there are free loams which result 
from decomposition of the underlying rocks, and on them the peach 
thrives, both where the soils themselves are deep and where the 
underlying rock is loose and open, permeable by roots and affording 
escape for water. Success has been reported even when holes are 
partly excavated in these rotten rocks as in the soft sand rock on 
the hills east of Vaca Valley, or in the broken chalk rock in what 
is called Blackburn Gulch, near Santa Cruz. The superior warmth 
of such soils is supposed to minister to earlier ripening of the fruit, 
though the escape from cold air by elevation is no doubt a greater 
factor to the end. 

The influences of comparatively slight difference in elevation is 
very marked. E. R. Thurbar, of Pleasant Valley, Solano County, 
had for many years a plot of peach trees on a natural terrace about 
seventy-five feet higher than the general level of his orchard. On 
the terrace peaches ripened and were disposed of before the same 
varieties ripened in the orchard below. 

As in the valley a short distance to water is to be avoided, so on 
the hills too great percolation from higher levels is undesirable. Of 
course, natural defects of this kind can be corrected by adequate 
under-drainage. 

Still, though such be the general soil conditions best suited to the 
peach, the tree can be well grown for home use or local markets on 
somewhat heavier soil, providing there is good drainage, but drain- 
age must be insisted upon, for thousands of trees have perished 
because planted in retentive soils without drainage. Alkaline soils 
which are usually rather heavy should, however, be avoided, as the 
peach, when grown on its own roots, seems to be of all fruits most 
sensitive to alkali. 

As to exposures for the peach the same rules hold as for other 
fruits which are liable to injury when in bloom or young foliage. 
Thus low places where cold air settles should be avoided, also low 
gulches through which cold drafts prevail. In frosty situations an 
incline away from the morning sun will often allow the trees to 
escape serious injury. 

PROPAGATION AND PLANTING 

Nine-tenths of California peach trees are grown on peach roots. 
The chapter on propagation gives the general method of growing 
and budding peach seedlings. In selecting pits, preference is usually 
given to those from strong-growing, yellow peaches, at least for 



PROPAGATION OF THE PEACH 243 

working on the same colored fruits, while others use pits of the 
Morris White, others the Strawberry, and others still will use only- 
pits from vigorous seedling trees. In this State the peach is usually 
so healthy and vigorous, and the "yellows" not known, that less 
care may be needed in selecting pits ; still there is certainly nothing 
lost by making every effort for a good stock. 

The hand-shell and sweet almonds have long been used as a stock 
for the peach. It is held that they give a hardier, stronger root, in 
dry coarse soils especially, but neither have been largely used. 

When it is desired to grow the peach on moister soil than suits 
its own roots, the St. Julian plum may be used. The Myrobalan 
has been used to some extent, but experience generally does not 
favor any plum stock for the peach and our largest propagators 
have abandoned its use. 

The so-called "peach-almond" has often been urged as a stock 
for the peach but has been little used, as nurserymen claim that the 
growth of its seedlings are less uniform and satisfactory than the 
straight peach and straight almond. It is a fruit having the pit of a 
peach but the perricarp of the almond, that is tough and tasteless 
and disposed to split like an almond hull. Early in the fifties a 
chance hybrid of this sort appeared in the nursery of W. B. West, 
of Stockton, and its pits were used for nursery seedlings which, 
when budded to the peach, produced good trees. Trees bearing the 
peach-almond are found here and there all over the State. Mr. 
Burbank produced a hybrid of the Wager peach and the Languedoc 
almond. 

Distance in Orchard. — Distance observed in planting peach 
orchards differs greatly, according to the views of different growers. 
Regarding the peach as a catch crop to plant between apricot, pear, 
cherry, walnut, fig or other slow-growing, larger trees, the trees 
may be set comparatively close ; that is, with the latter trees at 
thirty to forty feet, and alternate rows of peach to be removed at 
the end of ten to fifteen years. If the peach is to have the ground 
to itself, some planters plant at eighteen feet in equilateral tri- 
angles, or twenty to twenty-four feet on the squares, the present 
tendency of the peach, as with other trees, being to give more room 
than was the custom a few years ago. 

Age of Trees. — -In planting peach orchards yearling trees are 
generally preferred, though June buds are freely used and more are 
planted in dormant bud than of any other kind of fruit trees. The 
reason for this is easily found in the disposition of the peach to 
make a tree the first year from the bud. It springs almost at once 
into a full outfit of laterals. Some growers employ this disposition 
to form a head the first year in the nursery. When the bud has 
grown out eighteen inches, pinch it off at the top and force out lat- 
erals, which make long growth the same season. When planted out 
in orchard the following winter, cut back to ten or twelve inches. 
In this way anyone can get a yearling with the equivalent of a two- 
year-old head on it. The common practice is, however, to let the 



244 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

growth from the bud proceed as it chooses, and when the yearling 
is set in orchard, cut back to a single bud the laterals which are de- 
sired to form the head and removing others. If there is a dormant 
bud on the stem where a branch is desired and it is obstinate in not 
starting, a cross-cut through the bark just above it may concentrate 
pressure and force it out. Proper starting of the young tree is pro- 
moted by cutting away cleanly all laterals which have grown from 
stem-buds. In such cutting back the dormant buds at the base of 
such laterals should be preserved. The development of form from 
a yearling branched in the nursery is illustrated in Chapter XII. 

Planting Dormant Buds. — The chapter on planting describes the 
planting of yearling trees. The lifting of dormant buds from the 
home nursery and planting in orchard is described by P. W. Butler, 
of Placer County, as follows : 

Have the ground prepared and stakes placed in position in the orchard 
in early February, if possible, and begin the planting at once, while the 
trees are in dormant bud. Take no more trees from the nursery than can 
be planted in half a day. Plow a furrow on each side of the row, six inches 
from the trees, turning the soil from them, then two men with heavy spades 
or shovels, one on each side of the tree, can readily take it up without 
breaking many of the roots; and what are so broken should be smoothly 
trimmed with a sharp knife. Place the trees in a tub of water, near where 
they are to be planted, and take them from it only a few at a time. Put 
them in a basket or box and cover with wet sack, that they may be kept 
moist until placed in the ground. 

On planting place the bud one inch below the level of the ground, but 
do not cover it until after it has grown to the height of a few inches. The 
stock should be cut ofif at the bud with a thin, sharp knife (and not with 
shears, as is often done, as the latter method will sometimes split the 
tree), when it will take in moisture and not heal readily. 

Some growers do not cut back the young seedling tree until 
growth has started out well on the dormant bud, girdling the bark 
above the bud to force its growth. The tender shoot is protected 
somewhat by the old stem to which it can be tied. The removal of 
the old stem should not be too long delayed, for the wound by its 
amputation should heal over the first summer. 

Rather more care is needed in handling dormant buds both in 
planting and in their young life in the orchard. Lookout must be 
kept for suckers and against injury in cultivation. Success with 
dormant buds is notable. In good hands they commonly outgrow 
yearlings planted at the same time, and the percentage of loss from 
failure of the bud to start is very small. Of course, every bud 
should be examined before planting, to see that it has a healthy 
color. 

In the selection of peach trees for planting, a clean, healthy root 
only should be taken. During recent years there have been a good 
many young roots affected with knots or swellings from some ob- 
scure cause. Such trees should be burned. If planted, the knot 
sometimes grows to an enormous size and little or no top growth is 
made. 



SHAPING THE PEACH TREE 245 

PRUNING THE PEACH 

As has already been stated, the peach will carry a top of great 
fruiting longevity if the grower will do justice to the tree by regu- 
lar shortening of the growth and forcing out new wood, upon which 
alone fruit is found. Not only does regular pruning do this, but it 
promotes longevity and vigor in the framework of the tree upon 
which these bearing shoots come. Left unpruned, the peach soon 
becomes bark-bound, and the bark itself becomes hardened and 
brittle. Lower shoots are apt to dwindle, and the tree becomes an 
umbrella of foliage and fruit held aloft by bare branches bark- 
burned by the sun, invaded by borers, exuding gum, covered with 
moss and lichens — a picture of distress and unprofitability because 
its owner does not give the tree a chance to re-invigorate itself with 
large fresh leaves from the new wood which alone can carry them. 

Vase^Form with Continuous Leaders. — The common vase form 
of the peach tree is amply described in Capter XH, where it is 
used to illustrate the development of the prevailing California 
method of shaping fruit trees. Recently there has appeared a dif- 
ferent form which, though not new, is being given local names. It 
consists in building the tree with continuous ribs or leaders, a va- 
riation in the vase-form which has been used in Europe for centu- 
ries, perhaps. The following very clear account of it is prepared by 
Mr. C. F. Collins, horticultural commissioner of Tulare County : 

Another method of vase form, known locally as the Sims method, has 
been practiced for many years by William Sims, of Farmerville, and is 
now practiced by the California Fruit Canners' Association in its large or- 
chard near here, by Hunt Bros, in their orchards near Exeter, and by 
many individual growers in that vicinity. The trees are cut back to 18 
inches at planting, and at the first winter's pruning four or five of the most 
upright-growing branches are left to form the head. These are cut to a 
uniform height and as great a length as the season's growth will allow. 
On a vigorous tree this will be about 6 feet. All laterals are removed 
from these. 

The second winter retain one strong upright branch emerging from 
near the end of each branch of previous season's growth, and remove all 
laterals from the tree larger than a lead pencil. Top these main branches 
at a uniform height of 10 or 12 feet from the ground, according to the 
growth made. Sometimes a lateral is allowed to grow from one of these 
main limbs to fill in an open space in the outline of the tree. At the end 
of the second winter's pruning, we have a low-headed tree with four or five 
main branches 10 or 12 feet long, and so upright that the tree is only 6 or 
7 feet across the top. Enough small laterals are left for abundant shade. 
After this each season remove all large laterals, leaving only the small 
fruiting wood, and cut this back to the required amount. 

Some of the claims made for this system are that no propping is re- 
quired to support the limbs, and as these are so nearly perpendicular in 
growth the orchard is more easily worked close to the trees and the trees 
are more easily kept down to a proper height than when pruned by the 
ordinary method. This system certainly works admirably in the sections 
where it is used, and in my opinion, on true peach soil, where the trees 
are vigorous and grow large, strong limbs, it is far superior to the old 
vase form, but it is a question if it would prove as satisfactory in many of 
our orchards where the trees make a more feeble growth, and especially 
with a tree of as slender a growth as the Muir. Of course, with a less 
vigorous tree it might require three or even four years to get the tree to 
a proper height by this method. 



246 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Special Points on P«ach Pruning. — Whatever plan for low, vase- 
form be adopted, there are variations in the use of it by successful 
peach growers in various parts of the State. A few instances will 
be given : 

In pruning the peach I have found it a great advantage not to cut the 
new wood until after it has done its work. This is my method: A new 
shoot grows out to three feet this year. Don't cut it back next winter; but 
let it grow. There will be a few peaches on it and a great many strong 
buds will develop to set and mature a crop the following year. After that 
crop is off, cut the whole shoot back to the main branch. Other buds 
will grow from about the same place and below it on the big limbs to go 
through the same cycle. While this shoot is bearing its heavy crop, others 
M'ill be growing and setting fruit buds for the year when the first men- 
tioned one has been cut off. 

When you cut off a new shoot several others start next season near the 
cut, and draw all the sap from the buds below. They are stunted and 
probably killed. The several new shoots use a lot of sap that ought to go 
to fruit, for it is well known that the cutting back stimulates undue wood 
growth. You will have your trouble of cutting back year after year; and 
as time goes on, you build the tree higher and higher out of the reach of 
fruit pickers. By my method after a tree is large as convenient to prune 
and pick from, the fruit is forced out all along the limbs where it can be 
most securely held up and most thoroughly nourished. The tree does not 
grow appreciably higher, there is very little waste wood growth, for the 
shoots unpruned grow only a very few inches and that few inches is good 
for the production of necessary leaves. If the tree seems too prolific, take 
out more wood — always at its junction with the limb from which it 
springs. The tree is kept open enough always to supply light to the inner 
fruit spurs, but enough new wood is left to protect it from sunburn. New 
spurs are constantly growing among the bearing ones, so that the old 
limbs continue to bear. Should the new spurs get a little too thin, or the 
tree seem to need more leaves, a few shoots may be cut back for the sole 
purpose of providing new wood. — Ed. Ames, Newcastle. 

Unless the growth is systematically cut back it will be spindly and will 
not come low down on the limbs which could hold the weight of fruit de- 
sired. Without proper cutting back, the new growth will come from the 
terminals of last season's growth and on ordinary soil will be short, weak, 
and spindly, and the following year will produce little fruit. If such a 
tree is on low, moist soil, the growth from terminals will be longer and 
will set more fruit, but will be so spindly that it cannot hold up or mature 
the crop it sets. Cutting back the new growth stiffens it and the limb it 
comes from. After a tree is mature, the wood which bore fruit last year 
should be removed so far as practicable; and where new growth is too 
thick it should be thinned. This, with the cutting back of new wood, will 
force new growth throughout the tree. 

In the cutting back, the habit of the variety in locating fruit buds must 
be observed. With Elbertas and Muirs fruit buds are made near the junc- 
tions with larger branches, so cutting back of fruit laterals only is neces- 
sary, and they may be cut pretty short, especially far out on a branch. 
With Lovells the branch itself may perfectly be cut back, leaving fewer 
laterals and these considerably longer, because their fruit buds are scarce 
near the junctions. — C. B. Weeks, Red Bluff. 

The peach is renewed every year by cutting into the older wood so that 
there will be ample growth of young shoots which bear the coming crop, 
and this cutting is more severe after the tree has reached maturity, in 
order to get the desired result. The tree should not be allowed to become 
too large or straggling but should be pruned so that young growth is 
always plentiful from the bottom up. While growth is very vigorous a 
summer thinning of surplus inside growth is beneficial. — Leonard Coates, 
Morgan Hill. 



HOW TO GET LARGE PEACHES 247 

Spur Pruning Peaches. — Peach varieties vary in their tendency 
to set fruit buds close to the base of new growth. On this charac- 
teristic depends to a considerable extent, the severity of pruning 
back new growth. F. C. Dyer, of Ontario, has spur-bearing Lemon 
clings, looking almost as rough as pear trees. They bear fruit buds 
to the very base of the new growth. If the trees are old, not over a 
few inches of growth are added to the spurs each year beyond the 
fruits, though two or three feet of last season's growth are cut out 
of the tops. This lack of vegetative vigor makes it desirable to 
shorten back the spurs to not over three fruit buds, since only one 
fruit is desired per spur and since such winter pruning on such old 
trees does not induce too vigorous wood growth. This is somewhat 
true of the down-turning branches of most any variety. All the 
fruit wood possible is developed and saved along the main limbs. 
If spurs are too thick, they are thinned out to prevent shading the 
rest. Practically all of the new top growth was cut oft" from the 
Lemon clings. Lovells can be pruned back to spurs almost as short, 
Muirs a little longer, while Tuscans bear fruit buds only close to 
the tips which must be left on, or the branches thinned out. The 
bearing habits of varieties must be observed by the grower. 



THINNING PEACHES 

Thinning out fruit on the peach tree is not only the secret of ob- 
taining good, marketable fruit, but joins hands with pruning in pre- 
serving the health and future production of the tree. The import- 
ance of thinning has been urged in a previous chapter, but the fol- 
lowing is a very strong statement, by Mr. J. P. Cane, of the Cali- 
fornia Peach Growers — the co-operative association of the produc- 
ers of the fruit : 

The weight of fruit will be approximately the same whether the tree is 
thinned severely, lightly or not at all, but the great advantage in thinning 
properly is the greatly increased size of the fruit, the larger sugar content 
and the minimum expense of harvesting and curing. The cost of thinning 
is overcome at picking time when in handling one large peach the pickers 
get the same weight as if they had handled four small ones. There is a 
similar gain in time required to cut a ton onto the trays. Our records 
show that the weight of one extra fancy dried Muir is equal to three and 
three-quarters standard grade Muirs. 

Since size and quality are so important in dried peaches, everything 
possible should be done to increase the diameter of the fruit. Perhaps the 
ideal distance of peaches when properly thinned should be about two and 
one-half times their diameter when matured. This would mean that the 
peaches should be six to eight inches apart when thinning is complete. 
In thinning, see that the undersized specimens, which are certain to fall 
later, are removed, or at least allowed for, in spacing those that are to 
remain. 

The time for thinning peaches is as soon as one can be sure which 
are likely to remain on the tree and which will drop off of their 
own accord. Nothing can be gained by trying to separate doubles. 
Remove them if there are enough singles to make the crop. 



248 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

IRRIGATION OF THE PEACH 

As the peach is the greatest deciduous fruit of the interior val- 
leys and foothills, it is also the deciduous fruit which is chiefly 
grown with irrigation. Most of the specific conclusions set forth in 
Chapter XV are based upon experience with the peach and the 
reader is advised to consider them from that point of view. One of 
the most important points of success in irrigating the peach is to use 
enough water earlier in its growth so that application need not be 
made within about three weeks of ripening. Enough water before 
that will usually insure size on properly thinned trees and the with- 
holding of water near ripening will secure good quality. After the 
crop is gathered, irrigation can be resumed to continue the late 
summer growth for next year's fruit buds and to save the tree from 
injury during the long autumn drouth. Very great disappointment 
in thrift and bearing of peaches has resulted from lack of irriga- 
tion in the early autumn in the interior valley. Even in places 
where the trees make a good crop by rainfall or underflow, there 
may be great injury to the tree by inadequate soil moisture during 
the remainder of the growing season. 

There is some variation in practice of irrigation in relation to 
maturity of the peach. It is held that peaches for drying should not 
be irrigated during the last three or four weeks before maturity — if 
possible to get size without it. Peaches for shipping and canning 
may be irrigated later, say two or even one week before picking. 
Cling peaches will take water late more safely than freestones. 



WORKING OVER PEACH TREES 

The fashion in peaches changes from time to time according to 
the demands of the canners or the market for dried fruit. The 
grower often finds varieties which he first selected, less healthy, less 
productive, or, for other reasons, less desirable than others. There 
is, therefore, often occasion for working over trees. Budding is 
often resorted to, buds being successfully set in quite old wood, 
providing buds from well-matured wood are taken. Wood buds 
from young trees unaccompanied by fruit are best, but because of 
greater certainty of securing the variety desired, it is common to 
take wood and fruit buds together from bearing trees. A larger cut 
of bud and adjacent bark is taken when working in old bark than 
for use on seedlings. The best time to bud peaches in the old bark 
is as early in the summer as well plumped buds can be had on the 
new growth, and this can be hastened by pinching the tips of the 
shoots which it is desired to take buds from. Such buds should be 
forced to grow by cross cuts in the stock above the buds or by 
breaking down part of it when the bud is seen to have "taken" — 
cutting away cleanly when the bud has made a few inches of growth. 
Some growers thus bud and break part of the branches, allowing 
others to remain unworked, to maintain the growing processes of 
the tree. These branches and those in which buds have not taken, 
are cut off and grafted the following spring. The almond is sucess- 



DISEASES OF THE PEACH 249 

fully grafted over the peach, and this course has been followed with 
thousands of unproductive almonds. 

Peach and almond trees are also worked over by beheading the 
trees at the close of the dormant season and budding into the new 
shoots late in the summer — allowing the buds to remain dormant 
until the following spring, when the buds are started by cutting 
back to them as in the case of budded seedlings. As this wastes a 
year, budding in old bark for immediate growth is usually pre- 
ferred. 

Grafting the Peach. — Grafting the peach by the ordinary top- 
grafting with a cleft graft seldom succeeds. A side graft with saw 
and knife is better. It is described by J. W. Mills, an experienced 
peach grower of Yuba County, as follows : 

Saw grafting is rapidly taking the place of cleft grafting, for it does 
away with all difficulties arising from splitting, and there is no cavity left 
in the heart of the limb or tree. The process is to saw off the limb at the 
desired place as in cleft grafting, then saw across the corner and down 
the side at an angle of about 45 degrees and trim out with a sharp knife. 
Place the knife blade a little to one side of the saw cut, a little farther 
from the edge at the top than at the bottom, and by pressing on the knife 
the whole sides of the crevice will be trimmed smoothly at one stroke; this 
operation repeated on the other side of the saw cut will make a neat notch 
in the end of a solid limb. By cutting a little deeper from the saw cut at 
the top than at the bottom, and if the amateur does not trim his scion at 
the right angle, he can insert it gently in the crevice or notch and see just 
where to trim. If he is so slow that the fresh cut shows signs of discol- 
oration, he can make a fresh surface by placing the knife parallel to the 
edges and shaving oflf a thin slice. He still retains the same angle, but 
the scion will set a little deeper, which is no objection. By cutting a thin 
layer off the top of the stump next to the notch will show exactly where 
the inside layer of the bark is. The inside of the scion must be even 
with the inside layer of the bark of the stump or limb that is being 
grafted. If the scion is inclined slightly out or in at the top, it will make 
a correct union at some point and be sure to grow. If the inclination is 
very slight the union will extend over considerable length, and will make a 
much better start than if the union is at only one point, owing to the en- 
larged surface through which the sap is transmitted. One of the most 
important points in grafting is to have good wax and go over the grafts 
a few days after they are put in and rewax them. 



DISEASES OF THE PEACH 

Curl-Leaf. — The most prevalent trouble with the peach tree in 
California is the curl-leaf. It was noticed from the first planting 
of peach trees by Americans, nearly sixty years ago, and free con- 
jecture as to its cause was indulged in until it was shown to be a 
specific fungus, and its prevention by washes of fungicidal charac- 
ter demonstrated. The treatment will be described in the chapter 
on tree diseases. The facts of its occurrence may be stated as fol- 
lows : 

Curl-leaf is much more prevalent in some sections than others, 
and in one place than another in the same section, and some sections 
are practically free from it. Some varieties are much more subject 
to curl-leaf than others ; genarrly speaking, some curl nearly every- 



250 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

where, others curl in one place and not in another, others are prac- 
tically free from curl in all situations. 

Curl-leaf occurs in various degrees. Mild cases do not seem to 
injure either tree or fruit; severe cases destroy the fruit and some- 
times the tree itself. The disease is almost always at its height 
when the young fruit is about the size of small peas. If the curl is 
"bad," the fruit will fall to the ground, there not being healthy 
leaves enough to afiford the required support. If, however, the 
curl is moderate and partial, only a part and sometimes none of the 
fruit will be lost. The disease, as is well known, is of brief duration, 
say twelve to twenty days, after which the tree resumes a healthy 
appearance in every respect, and if the fruit has been able to sur- 
vive the ordeal, it also appears to grow and become as perfect as if 
no check had been given to its growth. But it is better to save the 
tree the burden of a new foliage growth. 

Mildew. — This disease, which occurs in the form of whitish 
felted patches on leaf and twig early in the spring, and finally af- 
fects the fruit, has long been troublesome in this State, and occurs 
on certain susceptible varieties in many localities from the coast to 
the Sierra foothills. Observation in this State has fully affirmed 
the statement of Downing, that the serrate, glandless-leaved varie- 
ties are liable, and those with good glands on the leaf stems are free. 

The conclusion would be that where mildew prevails, varieties 
with serrate, glandless leaves should be avoided. But it has been 
found that some glandless-leaved varieties, although subject to mil- 
dew, resist curl-leaf. Therefore it may be worth while to combat 
the mildew. This has been done effectually by treatment which will 
be described in a later chapter. 

As with curl-leaf, mildew is prevalent some years and slight in 
others. 

Peach Blight. — The most serious disease which has thus far 
stricken the peach in California is locally known as the "peach 
blight," the work of a shot-hole fungus (coryneum). This also has 
been satisfactorily checked by spraying, as will be described in the 
Chapter on Diseases of Trees and Vines. 

Split-Pit. — A common trouble of the peach known as "split-pit," 
has recently been studied by the California Experiment Station and 
the tentative conclusion has been reached that split-pits are psysio- 
logical phenomena and not caused by disease germs. Whether this 
abnormal growth is due to weakness of variety or to cultural condi- 
tions is not determined. It is true that varieties differ in amount 
of splitting, and selection is being made to some extent on that 
basis. 

Insects infesting the peach are discussed in Chapter XLI. 

VARIETIES OF THE PEACH 

Nearly all varieties of the peach have been tried in California, 
and, as with other fruits, it has been found that varieties must be 
chosen with reference to their success in special locations. Choice 



BEST COMMERCIAL PEACHES 



251 



is, however, chiefly made according- to the purpose of the grower, 
whether for early marketing, for sale to canners, for drying, or for 
distant shipment or for late marketing. As with apples, there is 
little use of planting early varieties (unless it be for home or local 
use) except in very early regions. An early peach from a late re- 
gion is killed by competition with better middle season sorts from 
the earlier regions. 

In an early region one can plant early, middle, and late varieties 
to advantage, and thus secure a very long-fruiting season. The 
peach season in interior districts begins about the first of June and 
continues to the end of November with local seedlings — giving six 
months of peaches. Of course, the very early and very late sorts 
are only of use for marketing as table fruit. The most important 
series is a fine succession of mid-season peaches suitable either for 
canning, drying or distant shipment. Such a selection can be made 
from the tables and descriptions which will be given later. 

Color is a most important item in the peach. While canners and 
Eastern shippers use the beautiful white peaches to advantage, the 
fashion for canning and drying is now strong in support of the yel- 
low-fleshed clingstone varieties. The yellow freestone peaches are 
also in greatest demand. The color about the pit is also an impor- 
tant point. Canners demand a peach, whether white or yellow, 
which is almost free from color at the pit, because the extraction 
of the red color dyes the juice; in drying, the demand just now is 
for a yellow peach with a red center, because the colors give the 
dried fruit a more attractive appearance. Of course there is a mar- 
ket for dried white peaches but the preference is for yellow. 

The peaches chiefly grown in California are named in Chapter 
XVI. 

PEACHES COMMERCIALLY APPROVED IN CALIFORNIA 

The 1920 conferences of growers, canners and nursery men spe- 
cially mentioned in Chapter XVI gave particular attention to the 
commercial aspects of peach varieties and reached the following 
conclusions : 

Free-stone Peaches 

Approved for Shipping: Alexander, Decker, Early Crawford, St. John, 
Elberta, Hale's Early, Early Elberta, J. H. Hale, Mayflower, Triumph, 
Wheatland, Salway. 

Approved for Drying: Lovell (recommended for 25 per cent of area 
planted), Muir (recommended for 75 per cent). 

Approved for Canning: The recommendation of the canners is that 
there be planted 70 per cent Lovell, 10 per cent Muir, 10 per cent Elberta, 
10 per cent Salway, and that for canning freestones all othes varieties be 
eliminated. 

Cling-stone Peaches 

Approved for Canning: Albright, Libbee, Levi, McDevitt, Pelora, 
Peak's, Phillips, Sims, Tuscan. 

The canners recommended the planting of Phillips 40 per cent, Tuscan 
25 per cent, Pelora and Peark's 10 per cent, Albright 5 per cent, Sims and 
Libbee 10 per cent, Levi 5 per cent, McDevitt 5 per cent. Hauss recom- 
mended for Sutter County. 



252 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

These are all yellow clingstones, and other varieties of the same type 
will be substituted for several of those named in different sections. Can- 
ners do not desire white clingstones of any variety. 

PEACHES CHIEFLY GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 

The following are the peaches chiefly grown in California, ar- 
ranged approximately in the order of ripening : 

Briggs' Red May (California). — Originated a chance seedling in nursery 
row on the farm of John G. Briggs, on the Feather River, about one mile 
from Yuba City, about 1870. Fruit medium to large, round; white skin, 
with rich, red cheek; partially free; subject to mildew. Commercially 
condemned. 

Mayflower. — Introduced to the Pacific Coast by California Nursery Co. 
as "the earliest peach known," and it still holds that title. Red all over, 
with white flesh of excellent flavor. As large as Alexander and ripens two 
weeks earlier. June. 

Sneed. — Large, creamy white, with blush cheek; tender, juicy; valu- 
able for early shipping. June. Discarded commercially. 

Alexander (Illinois). — Most widely grown as best early variety. Fruit 
medium to large; greenish white, nearly covered with deep red; flesh firm, 
juicy, and sweet; bears transportation well; pit is partly free. 

Triumph (Georgia). — Medium sized, early, yellow, partial cling; very 
good. 

Admiral Dewey. — Large; yellow with red cheek; flesh yellow; perfect 
freestone; flavor good. One of the best early yellows. Ripens soon after 
triumph. July. Discarded commercially. 

Honey (Lukens). — Medium, oblong, pointed, white mottled carmine; 
very sweet; related to Peen-to. Approved in Southern California. 

Peen-to. — Flat peach or saucer peach of China; good in Southern Cali- 
fornia. 

Early Imperial (California). — Originated by W. W. Smith, Vacaville, 
and planted to secure a yellow freestone earlier or larger than St. John. 
Most growers find it no improvement on St. John. July. 

Yellow St. John (New Orleans). — Earliest yellow peach; averages 
smaller than Yellow Crawford, but classed as large; roundish, orange yel- 
low with deep red cheek; juicy, sweet and high flavored; freestone. June 
and July. 

Hale's Early (Ohio). — Medium to large, nearly round; skin greenish, 
mostly covered and mottled with red when ripe; flesh white, melting, 
juicy, rich and sweet; fair for local market and shipping; widely grown; 
freestone. July. 

Strawberry (New Jersey). — Medium size, oval; stem cavity deeply sunk; 
suture extending half way round; skin almost wholly marbled with deep 
red; flesh whitish, juicy, rich and delicate; tree healthy. 

Foster (Massachusetts). — Uniformly large, slightly flattened; slight 
suture; stem moderately depressed; flesh yellow, very rich and juicy, color 
deep orange, dark red in the sun; freestone; tree hardy and productive; 
very widely grown in California and popular. Ripens before Early Craw- 
ford, which it sometimes resembles, but is of better quality. Very largely 
grown to displace Yellow Crawford. 

Crawford's Early (New Jersey). — Very large, oblong, swollen, point at 
the top prominent, suture shallow; skin yellow, with red cheek; flesh yel- 
low, rich and excellent; freestone; tree very healthy and productive; once 
the most largely planted variety in California, now declining in popularity. 

George the Fourth (New York). — Large, round, deeply divided by broad 
suture; sides unequal; skin pale yellowish white, dotted with red and red 
cheek; flesh pale, red at pit, from which it parts freely; quality good. 
Somewhat troubled with curl-leaf. Chiefly grown in Southern California. 



VARIETIES OF THE PEACH 253 

Mary's Choice (New Jersey). — Large, yellow, resembling Early Craw- 
ford, but ripening later. 

Tuskena (Alabama or Mississippi). — Wrongly called "Tuscan" and 
"Tustin" cling in this State; largely planted in the interior valleys and foot- 
hills; very large yellow cling; the earliest fine cling variety; very valu- 
able for early shipping. Ripens with Crawford's Early. Very largely 
planted. Improved selections being claimed. 

Ontario. — Known as "round Tuscan" and "flat Tuscan" in Southern 
California and given distinctive name by A. P. Weldon of Ontario. 

Oldmixon Free (American). — Large, roundish or slightly oval; greenish 
or yellowish white, marbled with red; flesh white, tender, and excellent, 
juicy and rich; high flavor. 

Libbee Cling. — Originated in Selma, commences to ripen shortly after 
the Tuscan. The skin is highly colored and the flesh deep yellow; fruit 
very large. The tree is of exceptionally robust habit and a heavy producer. 

Blood Cling. — Large; skin deep claret with deep red veins, downy; flesh 
deep red, very juicy, vinous and refreshing; esteemed for pickling and pre- 
serving. September. 

Morris White. — Large, oval; skin white with creamy tint when fully 
ripe; flesh white to the stone, which is free; melting, juicy, sweet and rich; 
especially good for home use and canning; somewhat subject to curl-leaf. 

Mnir (California). — Originated as chance seedling on the place of John 
Muir, near Silveyville, named and first propagated by G. W. Thissell, of 
Winters. Fruit large to very large; perfect freestone; flesh clear yellow, 
very dense, rich and sweet; pit small; tree a good bearer and strong grow- 
er, if on rich soil, to which it is best adapted; free from curl in Vacaville 
district; fruit a good shipper and canner, and peculiarly adapted to drying 
because of exceptional sweetness and density of flesh; yield, one pound 
dry from less than five pounds fresh. One of the best California seedlings. 
Claimed by some to be identical with Wager. 

Muir variations with large flowers, with fruit like Muir, but not split- 
ting at pit, reported by W. A. Rosander, Kingsburg; A. S. Coon, Fresno, 
and H. R. Shaw, Selma. 

Muir Cling by W. R. Fletcher, Green Valley, Sonoma County. Com- 
mended by Green Valley Cannery. 

Wheatland (New York). — Large, roundish; skin golden yellow, shaded 
with crimson; flesh yellow, rather firm, juicy, sweet, and of fine quality. 

Elberta (Georgia). — Very large; round-oval with deep suture; golden- 
yellow, faint red stripes; flesh yellow, fine, juicy, rich and sweet; tree pro- 
lific; perfect freestone. Largely grown for fresh fruit shipping; not pre- 
ferred by canners. Several types are being introduced, called "Early," 
"Fay," "June" Elbertas. 

J. H. Hale. — Valuable for shipping and drying, not for canning; smooth 
skin, almost fuzzless; very firm; ships almost like an apple; yellow free- 
stone; flesh tender, excellent quality; larger than the Elberta and ripening 
about the same period. 

Crawford's Late (New Jersey). — Very large, roundish, yellow with dark 
red cheek; flesh deep yellow, juicy, and melting; flavor rich and excellent; 
a popular and widely-grown variety, but very subject to curl-leaf in some 
localities; freestone. 

Lemon Clingstone (South Carolina). — Large, lemon-shaped or oblong, 
having large, projecting, swollen point like a lemon; skin fine yellow; 
flesh firm, yellow with sprightly vinous subacid; slightly red at the pit, 
which adheres firmly. 

Orange Clingstone. — Large, round; suture distinctly marked and ex- 
tending nearly around the fruit; no swelling at apex, like Lemon Cling- 
stone: deep orange color, with red cheek; flesh yellow, firm, juicy, with 
rich flavor; somewhat subject to mildew. Though largely grown, this va- 



254 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

riety has been largely supplanted by the following sub-varieties, which are 
seedlings from it. 

Selma Cling. — Originated on Lewis ranch at Selma and introduced by 
Fancher Creek Nurseries. Golden yellow, very uniform; somewhat flat- 
tened; slight color on the sunny side; flesh clear yellow to pit, fine grained, 
excellent. Cans with clear syrup and no rag. Ripens between Tuscan and 
Phillips. 

Sellers' Golden Cling (California). — Originated on the farm of S. A. 
Sellers, Contra Costa County, and introduced by James Shinn. Very large, 
rich golden color; tree healthy; one of the very best of clings; ripens with 
Late Crawford. 

Runyon's Orange Cling (California). — "Originated with Mr. Sol Runyon 
on the Sacramento River. Superior to the common Orange Cling. Run- 
yon's Orange Cling has globose glands, and is not subject to mildew like 
the common sort. Fruit very large, yellow, with a dark crimson cheek; 
rich, sugary, and vinous flavor. Highly esteemed and extensively planted 
in the Sacramento region and elsewhere." — John Rock. 

Nichols' Orange Cling (California). — Originated by Joseph Nichols, of 
Niles, introduced by James Shinn. Large, yellow, with purple cheek; flesh 
yellow and good. Tree healthy and a heavy bearer. 

Susquehanna (Pennsylvania). — Large, nearly globular, suture half- 
round; skin rich yellow, nearly covered with red; flesh yellow, sweet, juicy, 
with rich, vinous flavor; freestone; tree healthy. Very widely distributed 
and popular. 

Lovell (California). — Originated as a chance seedling with G. W. This- 
sell, and named by him in 1882; propagated by Leonard Coates, of Napa. 
Yellow, freestone; size uniformly large, almost perfectly round; flesh fine, 
texture firm, solid, clear yellow to pit; tree a good grower and bearer; 
superior for canning and shipping and dries well. Said to curl in some 
places. "The richest peach I ever saw on a tray." — E. A. Bonine, Los An- 
geles County. The most popular yellow freestone for canning and drying. 
Sometimes reported as "heavier" than the Muir. 

McKevitt's Cling (California). — Originated as a chance seedling in apri- 
cot orchard planted by M. R. Miller, on place owned later by A. McKevitt, 
Vaca Valley; named in 1882 by nurserymen who propagated it. A white 
clingstone; flesh very firm, fine-grained, sugary, and rich, high flavor, white 
to the pit; skin strong, and fruit excellent for shipping or canning; tree 
remarkably strong in growth and free from disease. 

Wylie Cling. — An old seedling by John Wylie, Green Valley, Sonoma 
County, increasing in popularity in northern Sonoma County as superior 
to Orange Cling in not splitting at the pit, and not dropping from the tree. 

California; syn. Edward's Cling (California). — "Originated in Sacramen- 
to. Very large, round, regular, nearly covered with dark, rich red; flesh 
deep yellow; flavor delicate, rich vinous." — C. W. Reed. 

Picquet's Late (Georgia). — Large to very large; round, sometimes a 
little flattened; yellow, with red cheek; flesh yellow, melting, sweet, rich 
and fragrant; freestone; not subject to curl-leaf. 

Salway (English). — Large, roundish oblate; suture broad, deep, extend- 
ing beyond the apex; skin downy, creamy yellow, rich, clear, crimson 
cheek; flesh deep yellow, red at the pit; juicy, rich, sweet, vinous; free- 
stone; a standard late peach in California; tree very healthy. 

Phillips' Cling (California).— Originated with Joseph Phillips, of Sutter 
County; propagated by J. T. Bogue of Marysville. Fine large yellow chng, 
no color at pit, which is very small; exceedingly rich and high colored; 
described by Mr. Skinner, superintendent Marysville Cannery, as the best 
peach he ever used. The most popular yellow clingstone. Ripens pro- 
gressively so that picking can cover two weeks without falling from tree. 
Requires good land and ample moisture. Haus's and Sim's cling are bemg 
planted as "improved Phillips." 



VARIETIES OF THE PEACH 



255 



Heath (Maryland). — Described by Downing as the most delicious of all 
clingstones. Very large; skin downy, creamy white, with faint blush of 
red; flesh greenish white, very tender and juicy, with most luscious flavor, 
best adapted to interior regions, or places free from curl. 

George's Late Cling (California). — "Originated in Sacramento. Large; 
white flesh; colored around the pit; beautiful yellow color, striped and 
splashed with bright red; a very heavy and uniform bearer; a good ship- 
per, and in its season of ripening there is no peach grown in Placer 
County that yields the grower so much profit." — P. W. Butler. Subject 
to mildew. 

Albright's Cling (California). — "Originated with Mr. Albright, near 
Placerville. Very large; yellow, with bright cheek; rarely equaled in qual- 
ity and flavor. Described as larger, more highly colored, of better flavor, 
better shape, and the tree a more prolific bearer than the Orange cling." — 
P. W. Butler. Endures long shipment even after being well colored. 

McDevitt Cling. — "Originated with Neal McDevitt, of Placer County. 
Uniformly large, rich, golden yellow, becoming red when ripe; flesh very 
firm and solid; superior in flavor; excellent shipper; tree good and regu- 
lar bearer. 

Levy's Late; syn. Henrietta (District of Columbia). — Above average 
size; yellow flesh, red cheek; late; clingstone. Very popular in San Joa- 
quin Valley. 

Bilyeu's Late October. — "Large greenish white and red cheek; flesh 
whitish, freestone; tree a rapid grower and attains great size; prolific 
bearer; fruit ships well, and where it will mature no peach can take its 
place; does particularly well in the foothills." — P. W. Butler. 

Decker (California). — Grown for eastern shipment, in Vaca Valley, and 
in Sutter and Butte counties. 



CHAPTER XXI 



THE NECTARINE 



The nectarine reaches perfection under California conditions, as 
does its close relative, the peach. The fruit is, in fact, as Downing 
says, only a variety of the peach with a smooth skin ; only a distinct, 
accidental variety of the peach ; and this is rendered quite certain, 
since there are several well-known examples on record of both 
peaches and nectarines having been produced on the same branch. 
Nectarine pits usually produce nectarines again, but they occasion- 
ally produce peaches. Peach seeds occasionally produce nectarines ; 
the Boston variety originated from a peach stone. All these facts 
which are recorded of relation between the peach and nectarine have 
been verified by California observation. 

The practice of growing nectarines is also exactly like that em- 
ployed with the peach. It is propagated and pruned in the same 
ways. The peach and nectarines are the same in natural adapta- 
tions and requiremnts, and in diseases, so that what has been given 
concerning the growth of the peach in this State has application 
to the nectarine. 

The success of the nectarine worked on almond stock, as has 
been demonstrated by the experience of many, has led to the graft- 
ing over a good many unprofitable almond trees to nectarine, though 
this has not been done to the extent to which the French prune and 
some other plums have been worked on old almond stocks. 

Comparative Production of Nectarinie and Peach. — It may be 

wondered, considering the similarity of the peach and the nectarine, 
why the former comes so near being our leading deciduous fruit and 
the latter is the least grown, but one, of all temperate zone fruits, 
only the lowly quince being less in importance. The explanation 
is that the fruit buyer, both in California and at the East, prefers 
the peach, whether it be fresh, or canned, or dried, and some of 
those who have tried even a few acres of nectarines have found 
many occasions to wish the ground had been given to peaches. How 
much of this preference is due to lack of knowledge of the nectarine, 
and how much to its somewhat different flavor, it would be difficult 
to actually determine. 

That the nectarine would advance in popular favor has been 
prophesied for some years, because of the wonderful excellence of 
the nectarine as grown in our interior valleys, and the passing 
beauty of the amber translucency of the dried nectarine, both when 
sun-dried and when produced by machine evaporators. The excel- 
lence of the canned nectarine has also figured in the anticipation. 
It is, however, questionable how far this anticipation has been 
realized, for it is estimated that the amount of dried nectaries is 
less than two per cent and of canned nectaries less than one-half 
of one per cet of the respective forms of peaches. Nor does the 




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VARIETIES OF THE NECTARINE 257 

demand call for change in this proportion, for there is a slight 
advantage in the market value of the peach even in its great pre- 
ponderance of supply. During the last decade many nectaries 
have been rooted out to be replaced by peach trees, or have been 
grafted over into peaches. There are, however, some growers who 
are confident that the nectarine will in the future rank much higher 
in the California fruit product. It would please growers and fruit 
driers and canners to popularize the nectarine, for its smooth skin 
makes it as easy to handle as an apricot, and the beauty of the 
product, which certainly exceeds that of the peach and is rather 
more easily attained, is very gratifying to_ the producer. There 
have recently been discerned some indications that these things 
may be realized, and plantings have increased. 

VARIETIES OF THE NECTARINE 

Varieties of the nectarine, as of the peach, show diflferent local 
adaptations, and are valued by growers accordingly. The varieties 
grown are, however, comparatively few. At the 1920 conferences 
of growers, canners and nurserymen, the Gower nectarine was ap- 
proved for shipping and the Stanwick for drying and Advance, 
Boston, Hardwick, Victoria and Napier were placed in the discard. 
Humboldt and New White were retained for desirability in home 
orchards. The following have been found most satisfactory in 
California : 

Grower. — Introduced by Fancher Creek Nursery and named for E. 
Grower, of Selma. Earliest of all nectarines. Ripens with Early Crawford 
peach; fruit very firm; freestone; ships like a clingstone peach; very early; 
delicious flavor; tree strong grower, bears heavily. 

Advance. — Large, round, green, marked with red and brown; flesh 
greenish white; rich and well flavored. The earliest to ripen. 

Lord Napier (English). — Large, pale, cream color with dark red cheek; 
flesh white, melting, tender and juicy, separating freely from stone; leaf 
glands reniform and flowers large. Especially commended as a heavy and 
regular bearer; pronounced best in flavor at Pomona Experiment Station. 

Downton (English). — Leaves with reniform glands; flowers small; fruit 
large, roundish oval; skin pale green, with deep violet red cheek; flesh 
pale green, slightly red at the stone, which is free, melting rich, and very 
good. 

Early Newington (English). — Leaves serrated without glands, flowers 
large; fruit large, roundish ovate, a little enlarged on one side, and ter- 
minating with an acute swollen point; skin pale green, but nearly covered 
with bright red and coated with thin bloom; flesh greenish white, but deep 
red at stone, which adheres closely, juicy, sugary, rich, and excellent. 

Hardwicke (English). — Leaves with globose glands; fruit very large; 
roundish, inclining to oval; skin pale green, with deep violet red cheek; 
flesh pale green, slightly marked with red at the stone, melting, rich, and 
highly flavored; freestone; a favorite in Southern California. 

Boston. — Raised from a peach stone by T. Lewis, of Boston; tree 
hardy and productive; leaves with globose glands; flowers small; fruit 
large and handsome, roundish oval, bright yellow, with deep red cheek; 
flesh yellow to the stone (which is small and pointed), sweet, though not 
rich, with pleasant and peculiar flavor; freestone; a general favorite in 
California. 



258 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

New White; syn. Large White. — Leaves with reniform glands; flowers 
large; fruit rather large, nearly round; skin white with occasionally slight 
tinge of red; flesh white, tender, very juicy, with rich, vinous flavor; stone 
small and free; commended wherever nectarines are grown in California 
and more freely planted. 

Stanwick. — Originated in England from seed brought from Syria. Large, 
roundish oval, slightly heart-shaped at base; skin pale, greenish white, 
shaded into deep, rich violet in the sun; flesh white, tender, juicy, rich, 
sugary, and delicious. 

Humboldt. — Very large, bright orange yellow vigorously marked with 
crimson; flesh orange, tender, juicy and highly flavored. Described as one 
of the best of the newer varieties. Ripens late. 

As the future for the nectarine seems to rest upon drying and 
canning of the fruit, the light-skinned, white or yellow-fleshed 
varieties without color at the stone, are most desirable. For drying 
there has been thus far a decided preference for freestone varieties, 
though possibly the present popularity for cling peaches for drying 
may extend to the clingstone nectarines. Much color, however, 
either in skin or flesh, will prevent the production of the beautiful 
translucent, amber hue of the dried nectarine, which is attractive 
to consumers. Color in the flesh is, of course, undesirable in can- 
ning, because of the discoloration of the syrup. These facts have 
had much to do in fixing the popularity of the varieties named in 
the foregoing list. 

The largest orchards of nectarines are in interior valley loca- 
tions, which are also fine for the peach and are perfectly adapted 
both to the growing of the fruit and to the open-air, sun-drying 
of it. 



CHAPTER XXII 



THE PEAR 



The oldest deciduous fruit trees in California are pear trees, as 
has already been stated in the account of fruits at the old missions, 
and some of the trees are still bearing, though it is about a century 
and a half since their planting. Trees planted by pioneers in the old 
mining districts have actually assumed semblance to adjacent oaks. 
Notable instances are found in the Stillwater district of Shasta 
County and elsewhere. Near San Jose there is a tree over half a 
century old, with a trunk seven and a half feet around and yielding 
annually about fifteen hundred pounds of fruit, some of which was 
exhibited at the Columbian Exposition. 

The pear withstands neglect and thrives in soils and situations 
which other fruit trees would rebel against. It defies drouth and 
excessive moisture, and patiently proceeds with its fruitage even 
when the soil is trampel almost to rocky hardness by cattle, carry- 
ing its fruit and foliage aloft above their reach. And yet the pear 
repays care and good treatment, and receives them from California 
growers, for the pear has been one of our most profitable fruits. 
It is in demand for canning, for drying, and for distant shipment, 
and its long season and the slow ripening after picking allow de- 
liberation in marketing, and admit of enjoying low rates for ship- 
ment by slow trains. One of the most striking demonstrations of 
the commercial suitability of the California pear is found in success- 
ful marketing in London. Solomons, who was called "London's 
greatest fruiterer," said in 1903 that California Bartletts from Block 
of Santa Clara are the "best in the world." Even after crossing 
the continent they seemed to endure shipment across the Atlantic 
better than Eastern pears. 

The most obvious marks of the California pear are size and 
beauty. The most conspicuous example is the Bartlett, which is 
the pear of California, judged by its popularity, fresh, canned and 
dried. When well grown, its size is grand, and its delicate color, 
aroma and richness unsurpassed. What extreme in point of size 
has been reached is not known to the writer, but he saw at the 
San Jose Horticultural Fair, of 1886, thirteen Bartlett pears grown 
by A. Block, of Santa Clara, which weighed fourteen pounds, the 
heaviest of the group weighing twenty-two and one-half ounces. 
But there had been larger Bartletts than the writer then saw, for 
in 1858 a Bartlett was shown at Sacramento which weighed 27 
ounces and was 13^ inches in girth, and to meet incredulity a life- 
size outline of the fruit was published in the California Culturist 
of December, 1858. Other pears have made standard sizes in Cali- 
fornia far in advance of their records elsewhere. There was in 
1870 a Pound pear sent from Sacramento to the late Marshall P. 
Wilder, president of the American Pomological Society, which 



260 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



weighed four pounds and nine ounces, and was reported by Colonel 
Wilder to be larger than anything previously reported in pear 
annals.* But CaHfornia has recently done even better, for a pear 
from near Marysville in 1904 was reported as nine inches high, 
sixteen inches around the base and five pounds in weight. Notes 
kept by the writer include five Vicar of Winkfields weighing four 
pounds eight ounces ; nine Easter Beurre weighing twenty-four and 
one-half pounds, the heaviest single specimen weighing two and 
three-fourths pounds ; thirty-five Beurre Clairgeau weighing thirty- 
seven pounds, the heaviest one, nineteen ounces ; Seckel pears, nine 
and three-fourths inches in circumference — Downing's figures make 
the Seckel five and seven-eighths inches around. 

The pear comes into bearing early if conditions have favored 
the thrift and development of the tree. It is a long-lived tree as 
already shown unless it is invaded by the blight. It is the judg- 
ment of Hayward Reed, whose pear orchards in Sacramento and 
Yuba Counties have long been among the best known in California, 
that with variations due to climate, soil, drainage, variety, etc., 
a pear tree is mature at 12 to 15 years of age and will average eight 
or nine boxes of 50 pounds each. It will pay for its care at seven to 
ten years of age. 

LOCALITIES FOR THE PEAR 

The pear has a wider range than the apple in local adaptations. 
It does as well as the apple in the coast regions, if suitable varieties 
are grown ; it thrives far better than the apple in the interior val- 
leys ; it rivals the apple in the ascent of the slope of the Sierra 
Nevada, and gains from the altitude, color and late keeping, as 
does the apple. By rejecting a few naturally tender varieties, or 
by proper protection against the scab fungus, in regions where its 
attacks are severe, one can grow pears almost everywhere in Cali- 
fornia — providing pear blight can be held in check, as will be dis- 
cussed later. 

The choice of location is governed more by commercial consid- 
erations than by natural phenomena. The same facts which make 
the Bartlett the favorite variety with planters, also should regulate 
the choice of locality for growing it. These facts were expressed 
by the late C. W. Reed, of Sacramento, who was in his time one of 
the leading pear growers and shippers of the State, as follows : 

In the Sacramento Valley proper there is but one variety of pear that 
will justify extensive cultivation, viz., the Bartlett. While nearly all va- 
rieties may be grown successfully, and many varieties may be desirable 
for home purposes, yet for profitable orchards we have to confine ourselves 
to this one variety, except in high altitudes, or localities where the fruit 
only matures very late. The reason for this will be better understood by 
the inexperienced if explained. The Bartlett pear having qualities that 
make it a universal favorite for shipping, canning, and for domestic mar- 
ket, no other variety is wanted while it is obtainable. With the difference 
in the time of its ripening in different localities that are adjacent, our mar- 



*Tilton's Journal of Horticulture, March, 1871, p. 87. An engraving of this fruit, 
natural size, was given in the Pacific Rural Press, November 8, 1873." 



THE WONDERFUL BARTLETT 261 

kets are supplied with this variety about four months each season, viz., 
July, August, September and October. While this pear is in the market, 
any other variety to compete with it must sell at very low prices. 

Of course experienced pear growers, whose taste would soon cloy 
with a continuous diet of Bartletts, and who know fully the superior 
quality of other varieties which ripen soon after it, would dispute 
the position taken by Mr. Reed, but for present California taste and 
trade he is undoubtedly correct. As the canners and shippers and 
local consumers all call for Bartletts, and as they usually sell at the 
East for more than other varieties, the choice of location to secure 
a Bartlett, either very early or very late, is the part of wisdom, for 
either end of the season usually yields better prices than the middle. 
The earliest Bartletts come from the interior valley sometimes as 
early as the last week in June ; the next, from the valleys adjacent 
to the Bay of San Francisco ; the next, from the higher foothills of 
the Sierra Nevada ; and the last, so far as present experience goes, 
although some coast and mountain situations are quite late, reach 
the market from the Vacaville district. It is an interesting fact 
that this district, which has long been famous for marketing the 
first early fruits, should also market very late ones. It is true, 
however, that early fruits hasten to maturity and late fruits are 
retarded. Late fruits push along until about midsummer, then stop 
growing for a month or two during the hottest weather, and after- 
wards proceed on their course and finish up well.* W. W. Smith, 
of Vaco Valley, has picked Bartletts as late as November 19, but 
that is unusually late. In years with heavy late spring rains the 
Bartlett ripens earlier in the Vaca Valley than in ordinary seasons, 
and when the fruit sells well in the East, the Bartletts are gathered 
green and shipped all through the season, as their first growth 
usually makes them large enough for this purpose. 

There is produced in some situations a "second crop" of Bart- 
letts and of other varieties, which is of account when pears are 
scarce and is sometimes dried with profit. For such fruit the bloom 
appears upon the tips of the shoots of the current season's growth. 
The fruit is sometimes coreless and has led to claims of "seedless 
pears." Bartlett pears have actually been picked in the foothills 
above Peatz in Butte County on February 25, 1905, and described 
as "fine, delicious and ripe." This fact must be regarded as a token 
of local climatic salubrity and not of economic or pomological 
account. 

Bartletts can also be successfully held in storage for a time if 
fitted for it. The experiments of the United States Department of 
Agriculture, conducted in Southern Oregon, show that the Bartlett 
season can be extended from six to seven weeks by leaving the fruit 
on the trees two weeks longer than is at present the practice and 
by storing for four or five weeks at a temperature of 32 deg. or 34 
deg. F. after the fruit has been precooled. 

*Demonstration of the effect of high heat in retarding the ripening of pears has been 
described by R. H. Taylor and E. L. Overholser in Monthly Bulletin California State Hor- 
ticultural Commission for March, 1919. 



262 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

SOILS FOR THE PEAR 

The pear, if it is not allowed to dry out entirely, will generally 
do well on shallow soil and over a tight clay hard-pan, where most 
other fruits would be unsatisfactory or fail utterly. The trees will 
thrive in clay loams, and even in adobe, if properly cultivated. In 
laying out fruit farms, which often include a variety of soils, even 
in comparatively small area, the pears and plums (if on the right 
stock, as will be seen) should be set in the lower, moister, stiffer 
soil, and other fruits on the lighter, warmer, and better drained 
portions. The pear, however, enjoys the better situation, though 
it wnll thrive on the poorer. The tree seems to attain its greater 
growth and heavier bearing on the alluvial soils of the valleys and 
near the banks of rivers and streams. All pears will be later in 
maturing and have better keeping qualities if grown on a clay sub- 
soil. Thus it appears that the pear will flourish whether the water 
is near or far from the surface. On wet land the apple is apt to die 
in a few years, or become worthless. On dry land the apple may 
live longer than on wet land, but the fruit will be small and taste- 
less. But the pear tree may bear good fruit, under both extreme 
conditions. 

It has been learned by experience that the pear will flourish on 
soil somewhat alkaline. At the University Agricultural Experiment 
Station at Tulare, this subject was demonstrated in detail. It was 
shown that though the pear endures a certain amount of alkali its 
limit of endurance may be often exceeded and there is little warrant 
to select alkali soil for pears, unless it be to fill a space that would 
otherwise be vacent in the orchard. If it is not too alkaline the 
pears will thrive. If gypsum be used in planting, somewhat 
stronger alkali will be endured than otherwise. 



PROPAGATION AND PLANTING 

The use of dw^arfing stock for the pear has been nearly aban- 
doned in this State, though in early years the quince was largely 
used. The most prominent orchard on quince stock is that of A. 
Block, of Santa Clara, where may be seen dwarf trees originally 
planted eight feet apart in squares, but now wider spaced by re- 
moving part of the trees ; the remainder doing exceedingly well 
under liberal manuring and irrigation. It would, however, require 
special investigation to determine whether these trees are still de- 
pendent upon the quince or whether they have developed roots from 
the pear wood above. 

It is quite possibe that, at least for gardens, there may be in 
the future more use made of dwarf trees ; but for commercial 
orchards there appears no need of dwarfing. The common con- 
clusion is that it is better to have fewer trees and larger ones, but 
since the pear blight became an issue in this State the quince 
has been advocated as a means of maintaining a sound root and 
keeping the warfare above ground. The best known dwarf pear 
orchard of recent planting is that of the Hillgirt Orchards in the 



PROPAGATING PEARS 263 

Alhambra Valley near Martinez in Contra Costa County. The 
reasons for resort to the quince root and the results are thus given 
by Mr. Frank T. Swett : 

The Bartlett does not make good union with the quince root, but by 
working Beurre Hardy on the quince root, and Bartlett on the Hardy, per- 
fect unions are obtained. We have a three-story pear tree root, quince; 
stem to a height of 12 inches, Beurre Hardy; top, Bartlett. We had a 
commercial crop of a box to the tree, or 170 boxes to the acre at the sixth 
year. Since then, we have had five good crops of pears. Standard trees 
alongside are only just beginning to bear commercial crops. We have, 
therefore, had an income for five years which would not have come to us 
on this land with standard trees. In 1907 we picked 1200 boxes of fine, 
clean, shapely pears from three acres of dwarfs. Our trees are planted 16 
feet apart. I think 14 feet apart would be a little better, giving 221 trees 
to the acre instead of 170. The trees are stocky and strong. Thej-^ are 
from 6 to 8 inches in diameter a foot above the ground. They are about 
10 to 12 feet high, and are broad and spreading. 

There are some cultural advantages of the dwarf trees. Our men prune 
about 60 of these trees a day as against 16 to 20 standard trees. Spraying 
can be more thoroughly done, as the trees are close to the ground. Most 
of the pears are picked without the use of a ladder, and only a short 
ladder is required to gather the pears higher up. I have seen a good 
picker picking at the rate of 60 boxes a day on these dwarfs, where the 
average rate on standard trees was 20 boxes a day. We resorted to the 
quince root to escape the root aphis, but the quince root is not as resistant 
to oak fungus as the French root, and where this fungus is a menace, 
dwarfs should not be planted. Dwarf trees suffer just as severely from 
blight as standard trees. 

The following varieties are commended for cultivation on quince 
stock as dwarfs, experience proving them vigorous growers and 
abundant bearers in suitable localities : Bartlett (by double work- 
ing), Beurre Hardy, Doyenne du Comice, Duchess d'Angouleme, 
Glout Morceau, Pound, Beurre Diel, White Doyenne, Easter Beurre, 
Winter Nelis, P. Barry, Winter Bartlett. 

Blight-Proof Roots. — But the pear is usually grown in California 
by budding or grafting on its own roots ; that is upon pear seed- 
lings. Formerly these were almost exclusively imported from 
France, but in 1918 more than three-fourths of the nursery trees 
were grown on Japanese stock, and in 1921 seedlings of European 
species are almost wholly abandoned. The seedlings of the Sand 
pear, of Asia (Pyrus serotina), are being demonstrated to be in- 
ferior to other Asiatic species which are being introduced and bid 
fair to become a main reliance. Very interesting pamphlets describ- 
ing these new species were published in 1918 and in 1920 by Mr. 
A. L. Wisker of Grass V^alley, California, who is commending the 
growing of ussuriensis seedHngs to be top-grafted in the orchard 
after attaining some size. 

It is, however, not demonstrated that these Asiatic species will be 
our only reliance in the future, for even if some of them do furnish 
a resistant root they may not make a good stem and, therefore, it is 
proposed to bud or graft some other resistant wood to make a trunk 
and top work the Bartlett upon such a trunk so that only the 
branches shall be susceptible to blight. Such a trunk is commended 



254 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

by Dr. W. L. Howard of the University of California in the use of 
the variety named "Surprise," whose resistance is demonstrated : 

The Surprise is even more blight resistant than the Japanese pear and 
makes a beautiful tree, and the plan to follow would be to grow the Sur- 
prise on the Japanese root until the trees are perhaps four years old, or 
until all of the main scaffold branches have been formed. These may then 
be top-worked to Bartlett. In this way, even though blight did get into 
the trees, it would not be possible to lose more than one of the main 
branches, and if care were taken this could be again top-worked on the 
original Surprise stump. 

Distance in. Planting. — If the pears are to have the whole 
ground, it is usual to plant from twenty to twenty-four feet apart 
on the square. As the tree is slower to attain size and full bearing 
than the stone fruits, and as it is a long-lived tree, the pears are 
sometimes set twenty-four feet with plums in quincunx. Peaches 
and apricots are also set between pears sometimes, when the soil 
chosen for pears suits them also. 



PRUNING 

Usually the pear is grown in the vase form, as described in the 
general chapter on pruning. With regular, upright growers, head- 
ing low and cutting to outside buds results in a handsome, gently- 
spreading top, and effectually curbs the disposition which some 
varieties, notably the Bartlett, have to run straight up with main 
branches crowded together. 

The development of the vase-form with a few continuous leaders, 
in a general way as prescribed for the peach in Chapter XX, is 
practicable. Such leaders are to be covered with short, fruit- 
bearing laterals. Thinning and shortening of laterals can be done 
by summer pruning. 

As with other fruit trees, the pear must be studied and pruning 
must be done with an understanding of the habit of the variety 
under treatment. Irregular and wayward growers, which, in windy 
places, also have their rambling disposition promoted by prevailing 
winds, often give the grower much perplexity. The general rules 
of cutting to an outside bud to spread the tree, to an inside bud to 
raise and concentrate it, and to an outside bud one year and an 
inside bud the next, if a limb is desired to continue in a certain 
course, are all helpful to the pruner. But with some pears, of which 
the Winter Nelis is a conspicuous example, it is exceedingly hard to 
shape the tree by these general rules, and some growers abandon 
all rules, merely shortening in where too great extension is seen, or 
to facilitate cultivation, and trust to shaping the tree when it shall 
have finished its rampant growing period. 

In the hot interior valleys, with the pear as with the apple, care 
must be taken to prune so as not to open the tree too much to the 
sun, but to shorten in and thin out only so far as is consistent with 
maintaining a good covering of foliage. 

The pruning of bearing pear trees is much like that of the 
apple, to be determined largely by the habit of the tree, and to 



IRRIGATION OF THE PEAR 265 

secure a fair amount of fruit on branches with strength and stiff- 
ness enough to sustain it. 

Summer pruning will promote fruiting either in a young or an 
old tree and some practice it to secure early bearing of young trees, 
but the common practice is winter pruning to secure strong wood 
and prevent overbearing. 

THINNING PEARS 

It is quit important to attend to thinning the fruit on over- 
loaded trees. Even the popular Bartlett will often give fruit too 
small for profitable sale unless thinned, though successive pickings 
as the fruit reaches marketable size, which will be commended 
presently, does to a degree reduce the danger of overcrowding. 
With pears, as other fruits, thinning should not be done until it is 
seen that the fruit is well set. Dropping off from natural causes 
sometimes thins the crop quite enough. 

IRRIGATION OF THE PEAR 

In some situations the pear needs irrigation, though it will 
endure drouth which would destroy most other fruit trees. There 
is no profit in small, tough fruit. As stated in the chapter on irriga- 
tion the wood growth and fruit show whether proper moisture 
needs are met or not. Early pears are advanced in development by 
irrigation in some parts of the State, and this is an important factor 
in their value. On the other hand, late pears may be kept growing 
to larger size and later maturity by irrigation. The following is 
an interesting concrete instance : 

Mr. John McAlister of Santa Clara County got nearly double the price 
for his pears one year because he held them back from ripening by timely 
irrigation. The weather in August and September when the Bartletts and 
Beurre Hardys ripen is a little too warm to accomplish much by irrigation 
except to increase the size of the fruit. The Hardys were irrigated two 
weeks before picking early in September; and after they were picked, the 
Comice, Winter Neils, and Easter Beurre were irrigated. The Comice 
were picked just before the Neils and the Neils were three inches in dia- 
meter before they needed to be picked late in November. The Easter 
Beurres six weeks after the Hardys, which brought the picking up to 
January 1. The Easter Beurres were 3y2, 4, and 6 inches in diameter at 
that time. The pears had been held on the trees at least a month later 
than other people, and some of them were held in storage until March 1 
before shipping to the eastern and coast markets. The pears are right to 
pick when they are large enough and the seeds begin to turn brown; but 
this condition may be delayed and the size increased by late irrigation un- 
less early rains are ample enough to produce the same effect. 



BLIGHT OF THE PEAR 

The pear blight appeared in the San Joaquin Valley about 1900. 
In 1904, after having nearly wiped out bearing trees in the southern 
counties of the San Joaquin Valley, the disease began to devastate 
the orchards along the Sacramento River through the vast area of 



256 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

rich valley land which it traverses and on which is situated our 
most extensive pear acreage. In 1905 resolute warfare was made 
upon the blight, with a large appropriation of State funds, by the 
plant disease experts of the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture and the California Agricultural Experiment Station, with 
the assistance of the local horticultural authorities. It was probably 
the greatest campaign ever made against a single tree disease, 
although some insect warfares have been greater. The outlines of 
the plans followed and the results attained are to be found in the 
publications of the institutions engaged.* 

Detailed information concerning the treatment of blight as indi- 
cated by progressive research and experimentation is also to be 
had from these institutions and from California horticultural 
journals which record the latest methods and results by pear 
growers who are continually introducing new methods of applying 
the only treatment thus far found effective, and that is cutting out 
and burning the affected parts. The cutting must be below the 
parts seen to be diseased, even to the roots of the tree, and dis- 
infecting the tools used in one cut before again cutting into the 
tree.f 

It is usually best, unless one is thoroughly acquainted with the 
disease, to submit specimens of suspected blight to the University 
Experiment Station at Berkeley, for a beginner may be easily 
deceived. However, that the inexperienced person may have a 
general idea of what to look for, the following outline of symptoms 
is given : 

The most obvious effect of blight to be seen during the growing season, 
is the blackening of the leaves and soft wood to which they are attached, 
as though these parts had been touched by a flame, and from this appear- 
ance comes its old common name, "fire-blight." More specifically, as Prof. 
R. E. Smith has written, the leaves, blossoms and young fruit wither and 
turn black on the affected portions but do not fall, remaining tightly at- 
tached to the twigs during the winter after the healthy leaves have fallen. 
The infection proceeds downwards through the inner bark of the twigs 
and branches, and when working vigorously the blight kills the twigs or 
whole branches very rapidly. The disease often runs down into the large 
limbs, where it remains alive over winter, producing the so-called "hold- 
over" blight, which is a source of infection during the following season. 

The blighted twigs, branches or trunks show a red, sappy, juicy con- 
dition of the inner bark when infected with the true pear blight organism. 
If the disease is fresh and active the bark when cut into is very juicy, ex- 
uding the slightly sticky sap quite freely and showing bright red color in 
the inner bark. This symptom is of importance in distinguishing true 
blight from such troubles as die-back from sour sap, crater blight and 
other causes. 

In the smaller twigs and branches the organism dries out and becomes 
entirely dead. But, through the agency of biting insects in the young 
shoots and suckers, the disease frequently gets into the trunk of the tree 
and also down into the roots. Here it spreads and causes the death of 



•Reports of the California Commissioners of Horticulture, 1901 to 1906, including 
Reports on California Fruit Growers' Convention for 1905-6-7, Horticultural Commissioner, 
Sacramento. Report of Plant Pathologist, University Experiment Station, Berkeley, 1906 
and 1908. 

tThe character of such a fight and what it costs is graphically portrayed by E. A. 
Gammon in the Report of California Fruit Growers' Convention of 1909, and in Pacific 
Rural Press, June 22, 1910. 



CUTTING OR SCRAPING PEAR BLIGHT 267 

the tree by slow degrees, due to the destruction of the inner bark of the 
trunk or main roots. In such cases the leaves of affected trees take on a 
peculiar bronzy reddish coloration in the fall, which is quite characteristic 
to the experienced eye. 

From the "hold-over" blight in the trunks and large limbs an infectious 
sap exudes when growth starts in the spring, which sap contains myriads 
of the blight organisms. This sap is attractive to insects, which, in feeding 
upon it, get the blight bacteria upon their bodies and mouth parts, and 
transfer them to the blossoms or green shoots of other trees, thus spread- 
ing the infection. 

Looking for Blight. — The time to see bhght best is while the 
tree is in leaf. Discovery and cutting otit should be in mind all 
summer — especially should thorough work be done in the autumn. 
The leaves are still hanging on blighted twigs ; trees are least sus- 
ceptible to reinfection from careless cutting because they are practi- 
cally dormant ; insects are not so numerous, and the rain is not yet 
soaking newly cut surfaces with drippings from other new cuts. 
It is easy to get aroimd the orchard, and mud does not hinder fol- 
lowing root blight. 

Cutting Out Blight. — Cuts should usually be made about a foot 
below visible appearances of blight on the bark; (2) tools are dis- 
infected before making the cut; (3) the wound immediately after 
the cutting is sponged with a disinfectant — of which the one chiefly 
used is one part of corrosive sublimate to 1000 parts of water by 
weight ; which is one ordinary tablet of corrosive to one pint of 
water. Dr. F. C. Reimer of Oregon, the noted pear expert, recom- 
mends cyanide of mercury to disinfect cuts and wounds instead 
of corrosive sublimate — 1 gram of pure cyanide of mercury to 500 
grams of water (about one pint). Large cut surfaces should be 
subsequently brushed or sprayed with Bordeaux mixture or lime- 
sulphur wash. 

Scraping Instead of Cutting. — In 1921 a new method of checking 
the progress of the blight downward is being employed in the treat- 
ment of larger branches and trunk. It is described as follows :* 

The new method of control consists in the scraping of the outer layer 
of bark on all infected areas, and it is very essential to scrape for insur- 
ance at least eight to ten inches above and below all visible signs of blight. 
The scraped area is then painted or saturated with a solution of cyanide of 
mercury (1 to 500). On trunk infections it is found best to scrape a little 
closer to the cambium or growing layer of bark. It is found that the 
cyanide solution does not penetrate to the cambium if too much outer 
bark is left. On working on large areas disinfecting should be done sev- 
eral times during the operation because the surface of the bark becomes 
dry and the solution cannot penetrate to the inner blight. If a mud paste 
of cyanide solution and earth is put on the scraped area it helps to keep 
the wound damp for some time and the cyanide effective for a longer 
period. Bichloride solution, 1 to 1000, is better to use to disinfect tools. 
The bichloride solution and cyanide solution (1 to 500) may be mixed in 
the same bottle for convenience. 

Pear Scab. — The scab fungus which seriously affects some 
varieties, and notably the Winter Nelis, is identical with the scab 
of the apple and will be mentioned in the chapter on tree disease. 



•E. I. Power in Pacific Rural Press, March 26, 1921. 



268 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

INSECT PESTS OF THE PEAR 

The pear is subject to several grievous pests which must be 
resolutely combated or circumvented as described in Chapter 
XLI — where the identification of the pests is determined by the 
character of the injury they inflict. 

GATHERING AND RIPENING OF PEARS 

Many pear growers make the common mistake of allowing the 
fruit to hang too long on the tree, instead of gathering and ripening 
in a cool, dark place. Pears should be picked at the first indication 
of ripeness, the first sign being a tendency of the stem to part from 
the spur when the pear is gently raised up. This test applies 
especially to the Bartlett. Picking at this stage and laying av^^ay 
in the dark ripens up the Bartlett well. When picked at this stage 
and sent overland by slow freight, they ripen en route and the boxes 
open well on the Eastern markets. There are a few varieties which 
shrivel if ripened under cover, but the rule is a good one, and the 
grower will soon note the exceptions. Many desirable varieties 
have, no doubt, been pronounced poor and insipid because allowed 
to ripen on the tree. As a rule pears are ready to pick w^hen of 
proper size, seeds beginning to turn brown, and the flesh quite firm. 

Some pears size up and ripen before others. Some get oversized 
before the general run are ready. If these early pears are picked 
first, with some care not to knock the others off, the small ones left 
will have all the strength of the tree to increase their size, and the 
earliest ones will not get oversized or over-ripe. Fewer pickers are 
required and the job, being longer, is more attractive. 

To ripen well, pears should be packed in tight boxes or inclosed 
in drawers. They do not do as well as apples on shelves open to 
circulation of air. As already stated, the oily-skinned apple endures 
exposure and maintains a smooth, ruddy cheek and sound heart in 
spite of wind, rain and rough weather. The pear under similar con- 
ditions decays rapidly. 

POLLINATION OF PEARS 

As very few varieties of pears are largely grown in California 
and as the Bartlett generally bears well when grown in large acre- 
ages by itself, the Eastern claim that the Bartlett is self-sterile does 
not seem to be justified in California experience. Recent observa- 
tions indicate that even at the East the Bartlett is self-fertile when 
conditions are favorable to setting of the fruit and self-sterile when 
they are otherwise. As conditions are usually favorable in Cali- 
fornia this may be the reason why its self-fertility is more conspicu- 
ous here than at the East. 

The behavior of the Bartlett under systematic fertilization has 
been determined at the University Farm at Davis and the results 
published in detail.* The conclusions are that the Bartlett is to a 



•"Pollination of the Bartlett Pear," by W. P. Tufts, University of California Experi- 
ment Station, Bulletin No. 37; May, 1919. 



POLLINATION OF PEARS 269 

limited degree self-sterile (and in 1920 was sterile) under valley con- 
ditions and is self-sterile under foothill conditions ; therefore, it is 
desirable that another variety should be interplanted with the Bart- 
lett for cross-pollination. The blooming season of eight varieties 
during a period of five years at Davis is given as follows : 

Angouleme March 16 to March 28 

Howell March 16 to March 29 

Easter March 16 to March 30 

Clairgeau March 22 to March 28 

Cornice March 29 to March 31 

Dana's Honey March 23 to March 31 

Winter Nelis March 22 to April 2 

Bartlett March 19 to April 13 

It thus appears that the Bartlett has a very long blooming season 
and overlaps the other varieties named — all of which were demon- 
strated by hand tests to be capable of cross-pollinating it and to 
receive the same service. 



VARIETIES OF THE PEAR 

Though large collections of famous Eastern and European pears 
have been brought to California, the peculiarity of the local market 
and demand for canning and shipping has led to concentration upon 
very few sorts.* The pears favorably considered by the 1920 con- 
ferences of growers, canners and nurserymen for commercial plant- 
ing are the following: Bartlett, Beurre Bosc, Beurre Clairgeau, 
Beurre d'Anjou, Beurre Hardy, Comet, Easter Beurre, Forelle, 
Glout Morceau, Wilder, Winter Nelis, Comice. 

The following descriptive list, arranged approximately in the 
order of their ripening includes varieties chiefly found in California 
orchards : 

Harvest; syn. Sugar Pear (American). — Small, roundish, pale yellow, 
brownish in sun, brown and green dots; flesh, whitish, rather dry but 
sweet; tree upright, young wood olive yellow brown. 

Madeleine (French). — Medium, obovate pyriform, stalk long and slender, 
set on the side of a small swelling; pale yellowish green, rarely brownish 
blush; calyx small, in shallow, furrowed basin; flesh white, juicy, delicate. 

Wilder Early (American). — Small to medium, yellow with red cheek; 
sweet, and good. Recently introduced and profitable for local sale in San 
Diego County. Should not be confused with Col. Wilder, a California seed- 
ling which has gone out of use. 

Bloodgood (New York). — Tree short, jointed, deep reddish brown wood; 
fruit medium turbinate, inclining to obovate, thickening abruptly in stalk; 
yellow, sprinkled with russet dots; calyx strong, open almost without de- 
pression; stalk obliquely inserted, without depression, short, fleshy at its 
base; flesh yellowish white, melting, sugary, aromatic; core small. 

Clapp's Favorite (Massachusetts). — Tree a strong grower; young shoots 
dark reddish brown; fruit large, slightly obtuse pyriform; pale lemon yel- 
low with brown dots; flesh fine, melting, juicy, with rich, sweet delicate, 
vinous flavor; resembles Bartlett, but lacks musky flavor. 



*An illustrated account of the pears chiefly grown in California and cultural matters 
also, is given in an excellent publication by George P. Weldon on "Pear Culture in Cali- 
fornia," published in 1918 by the State Horticultural Commission, Sacramento. 



270 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Lawson; syn. Comet (New York). — Medium to large, bright crimson on 
yellow ground; flesh fine, rich and sweet; gaining in popularity. 

Bartlett (English). — Tree a strong grower, early bearer, and healthy; 
fruit large, smooth, clear yellow, sometimes with delicate blush; stalk mod- 
erately long; stout and inserted in shallow cavity; calyx open; flesh white, 
fine grained, juicy, buttery; highly perfumed (musky), vinous flavor. 

Buerre Hardy. — Large, long, obovate, sometimes obscurely pyriform; 
skin greenish with thin, brown russet; stalk an inch long; cavity small, 
uneven, oblique, basin shallow; buttery, somewhat melting, rich, slightly 
subacid; tree a strong grower. 

Flemish Beauty (Belgian). — Large, obovate, often obscurely tapering to 
the crown, very obtuse, surface slightly rough, with some reddish brown 
russet on pale yellow ground; flesh juicy, melting, and good if picked early 
and ripened in the house; rejected commercially. 

Seckel (Pennsylvania). — Rather small, ^ regularly formed, obovate; 
brownish green, becoming yellowish brown, with russet red cheek; stalk 
slig^htly curved, and set in strifling depression; calyx small and set in a 
very slight depression; flesh whitish, buttery, very juicy and melting, with 
peculiarly rich, spicy flavor and aroma. Only commended for home orchards. 

Howell (Connecticut). — Rather large, roundish pyriform, light waxen 
yellow, often with finely-shaded cheek thickly sprinkled with minute russet 
dots and some russet patches; stalk medium, without cavity and some- 
times lipped; sometimes in small cavity; calyx open in large, uneven basin; 
flesh whitish, juicy, brisk, vinous; not desirable commercially. 

Duchess d'AngouIeme (France). — Very large, oblong obovate; somewhat 
uneven, knobby surface; dull greenish yellow, streaked and spotted with 
russet; stalk long, stout, bent, deeply set in irregular cavity; calyx set in 
somewhat knobby basin; flesh white, buttery, and juicy, with rich flavor. 

Louise Bonne of Jersey (France). — Large oblong pyriform, a little one- 
sided; glassy, pale green in shade, brownish red in the sun, numerous gray 
dots; stalk curved, rather obliquely inserted, without depression, or with 
a fleshy, enlarged base; calyx open in a shallow uneven basin; flesh very 
juicy, and melting, rich, and excellent; very prolific. 

Beurre Bose (Belgium). — Large pyriform, a little uneven, often tapering 
long and gradually into the stalk; skin pretty smooth, dark yellow, dots 
and streaks of cinnamon russet, slightly red on one side; stalk long, rather 
slender, curved; calyx short, in shallow basin; flesh white, melting, buttery, 
rich, with slightly perfumed flavor. Gaining commercial favor. 

Beurre Clairgeau (France). — Large, pyriform, but with unequal sides; 
yellow, shaded with orange and crimson, thickly covered with russet dots, 
sometimes sprinkled with russet; stalk short, stout and fleshy, inserted by 
a lip at an inclination almost without depression; when lip is absent, the 
cavity is uneven; calyx open; flesh yellowish, buttery; juicy, granular, 
sugary, perfumed, vinous; apt to ripen early for a winter pear; good com- 
mercially. 

Beurre d'Anjou (France). — Large, obtuse pyriform; stem, short, thick, 
and fleshy, in a cavity, surrounded by russet; calyx small, open in small 
cavity, russetted; skin greenish, sprinkled with russet, sometimes shaded 
with dull crimson, brown and crimson dots; flesh whitish, not very fine, 
melting, juicy, vinous flavor, perfumed; tree a fair grower, but somewhat 
affected by fungus; approved commercially. 

Dana's Hovey; syn. Winter Seckel (Massachusetts). — Small, obovate, 
obtuse pyriform; greenish yellow or pale yellow, with much russet and 
brown dots; stalks rather short; a little curved, set in slight cavity, some- 
times lipped; calyx open and basin small; flesh, yellowish, juicy, melting, 
sweet, aromatic; commended for home use. 

Doyenne du Cornice (France). — Large, varying, roundist pyriform, or 
broad, obtuse pyriform; greenish yellow becoming fine yellow, shaded with 
crimson, slightly marked with russet spots, and thickly sprinkled with 
russet dots; stalks short, stout, inclined and set in shallow cavity, often 



VARIETIES OF THE PEAR 271 

russetted; calyx small, open, basin large, deep and uneven; flesh white, 
fine, melting, aromatic. Very profitable during last few years in eastern 
shipments. 

Glout Morceau (Flemish). — Rather large, varying in form, but usually 
short pyriform, approaching obtuse oval; neck very short and obtuse; body 
large and tapering towards crown; often considerably ribbed; green, be- 
coming pale greenish yellow; stalk stout, moderately sunk; calyx large, 
basin distinct, rather irregular; flesh white, fine-grained, buttery, melting, 
rich, sweet, and fine flavor. 

Block's Acme (California seedling, by A. Block, of Santa Clara). — Large 
and very handsome, surpassing Beurre Clairgeau in size and color; regu- 
larly formed, pyriform, skin pale yellow, covered with russet all over, 
which becomes a fine glowing red on the side exposed to the sun; flesh 
white, crisp, and melting, juicy, sweet and slightly musky. 

Winter Nelis (Belgium). — Medium, roundish, obovate, narrowed in near 
the stalk; yellowish green, dotted with gray russet and a good deal covered 
with russet; stalk rather long, bent, and set in narrow cavity; calyx open 
in shallow basin; flesh yellowish white, fine grained, buttery, very melting, 
and full of rich, sweet, aromatic juice; an old standard late pear. 

Forelle. — Medium size, handsome, greenish yellow; brilliant red cheek 
with brown spots; quality good; often very profitable for shipping, but not 
a free bearer. 

P. Barry (California seedling, by B. S. Fox). — Fruit large, elongated 
pyriform, a little obtuse; skin deep yellow, nearly covered with a rich golden 
russet; stalk of medium length and thickness, set rather obliquely on 
a medium cavity, sometimes by a lip; flesh whitish, fine, juicy, melting, 
sweet, slightly vinous and rich. Not justifying expectations commercially. 

Easter Beurre (France). — Large, roundish, obovate obtuse, often rather 
square in figure; yellowish green, sprinkled with many russet dots and 
some russet patches; stalk rather short, stout, set in an abruptly sunken 
obtuse cavity; calyx small, closed, but little snug among plaited folds of 
angular basin; flesh white, fine grained, very buttery, melting, and juicy, 
sweet, rich flavor; was successfully shipped from California to England as 
early as 1872 and retains favor for distant shipments. 

Pound. — Large, pyriform, yellowish-green with red cheek, esteemed for 
cooking; reaches enormous size in this State, as already noted. 

Kieffer and Le Conte. — These pears are grown to a limited extent in all 
parts of the State, but are usually condemned as inferior to the European 
varieties. The Kieffer is best in interior regions. 

Crocker's Bartlett (California). — Chance seedling on place of L. L. 
Crocker, Loomis, Placer County. Introduced by Mr. Crocker in 1902. De- 
scribed in year book, 1905, of U. S. Department of Agriculture; medium to 
large, oblong, obovate, pyriform; rich golden yellow, somewhat russetty; 
quality very good; keeps until March. Claimed to be blight-resistant and 
regularly productive, but has never gained much favor. 

Winter Bartlett (Oregon). — Chance seedling in the dooryard of D. W. 
Coolidge in Eugene, Oregon. Closely resembles Bartlett in shape and ap- 
pearance and flavor but coarser; ripens four months later than Bartlett in 
interior situations in California. Abandoned by some growers for coarse- 
ness, and disliked by canners for developing a pink color. Commercially 
disappointing. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

PLUMS AND PRUNES* 

The plums of California are exceptionally fine in appearance and 
of high quality. Both tree and fruit have thus far escaped the 
parasites which have wrought greatest injury on the eastern side 
of the continent. The curculio has never been found here, and the 
"black knot" has never been observed in our orchards. The tree 
suffers, it is true, as do most other fruit trees, from various 
pests and diseases, but their work is a light affliction compared with 
the ravages of the curculio and black knot which Eastern plum 
growers have to contend against. The plum stands first among the 
deciduous fruit trees of California, as noted in Chapter VI. Of the 
plums, nearly six-sevenths of the acreage are those varieties 
designated as prunes. This is, of course, owing to the profitable 
shipping demand for our prune product, while ordinary dried, pitted 
plums are expensive in production and do not always command 
good prices. There is, however, a large trade at the East in our 
fine plums in a fresh state. Some varieties stand shipment well and 
are large, handsome and in some cases possessed of unique charac- 
ters, resulting from Mr. Burbank's work with the Japanese species. 
Considerable shipments of fresh plums have been made from Cali- 
fornia to England. 

By choosing varieties ripening in succession, the plum season 
extends from May to December, thus enabling the California plum 
grower to strike the Eastern markets both early and late. It is on 
record also, that second crop plums have ripened. In 1904 Judge 
Leib, of San Jose, sent to Luther Burbank, on December 1, ripe 
fruit from a tree which ripened its first crop on July 4, of the same 
year — but this fact is of no commercial account. 

There is also considerable demand for plums by the canners, who 
do not use, however, the varieties in chief demand for shipping. 

LOCALITIES FOR THE PLUM 

The plum has an exceedingly wide range in California. The 
trees are thrifty and profitable from the immediate vicinity of the 
coast and in coast valleys, eastward across the great interior valleys, 
and upwards upon the sides of the Sierra Nevada. In the upper 
half of the State, at least, wherever there is sufficient moisture in 
the soil, good plums can be grown. The tree is quite hardy, but in 
situations open to the sweep of the winds there has been found to 
be decided advantage in belts of sheltering trees for protection.. 

*A11 prunes are plums, but all plums arc not prunes. A prune is a plum which can 
be dried without the removal of the pit without fermenting — the result being a fleshy pulp 
with a high degree of sweetness. All plums which will not do this are not prunes even though 
the word may appear in their California common names. 

An excellent review of cultural affairs of the prune is given in California Experiment 
Station Bulletin 328 (June, 1921) by Prof. A. M. Hendrickson of the University Division of 
Pomology. 



PROPAGATION OF PLUMS 273 

At some points subject to direct coast influences, there is sometimes 
loss by cracking of the fruit. It is seldom encountered in the in- 
terior valley, except near the rivers or in draws where the damp 
coast air makes its way through. It seems to be worst where there 
are marked differences in atmospheric humidity within short periods 
of time. Where the percentage is quite uniformly high or low there 
seems to be less trouble. Some years conditions usually restricted 
to more exposed coast situations prevail in the interior valley, and 
the result is unusual prevalence of mildew and other moist fungi 
and cracking of fruit also, though they have no relation to each 
other except that the same conditions favor both. Only certain 
varieties are thus affected, and they can be avoided where the 
trouble is found to exist. 

It was for a long time held that Southern California was not 
adapted to the growth of the plum, but the experience of the last 
few years has shown that the conclusion was too broad. The 
"French pruns" demonstrated its success adjacent to the Coast in 
Santa Barbara County, and elsewhere, in the low, rich lands of the 
Santa Ana Valley, of Orange County, in the interior at various 
points on the rim of the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, 
notably at Pomona, and still farther inland in the San Bernardino 
Valley, but the Southern California prune product is small because 
the land and water can be more profitably used for other fruits. 
There is, however, difficulty in some dry uplands where the tree 
is shy in fruiting and subject to serious gumming; but this is en- 
countered locally in all parts of the State. Irrigation does not 
always overcome these troubles, and yet, no doubt, the arrangement 
of proper moisture conditions is important. The tree should be 
helped to make one good growth and to ripen its wood in the fall. 
To have growth checked by drouth and a second start made later 
in the season is not desirable. 

All the foregoing observations are based upon the behavior of 
plums of European origin ; descendants of the Prunus domestica. 
One of the grandest contributions to the extension of the range of 
the plum in California was the introduction of the Asiatic species, 
Prunus triflora and simoni. Varieties of these species directly intro- 
duced or locally developed by Burbank and others, have proved 
productive in places where the domestica varieties were abandoned 
as shy or sterile. To estimate the value of these varieties one has 
only to visit the home fruit gardens of Southern California or in- 
spect the fruit stands of Los Angeles which are continuous exhibits 
of fine specimens of these varieties in their seasons. Even in places 
where the domestica varieties are largely grown the Asiatic varieties 
are also prominent. 

SOILS AND STOCKS FOR THE PLUM 

With the plum, as with the apricot, the subjects of soils and 
stocks are intimately related, but the whole matter has been wonder- 
fully simplified by the experience of the last few years. This relief 
has come through the adoption of the myrobalan, or cherry plum 



274 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

(Prunus myrobalana), a general all-around stock for plums and 
prunes. Before this practice was taken up the effort to grow the 
plum on its own roots generally resulted in getting an orchard full 
of suckers, and to avoid this, plums were worked on peach roots 
wherever this root would succeed in the soil to be planted. But 
some varieties of plums do not take kindly to the peach, and then 
"double working" (putting first on the peach a plum which is 
known to take well and then on that plum wood the variety de- 
sired) was followed. The use of the myrobalan does away with the 
suckering nuisance, and the need of double working. More than 
three-quarters of our plums and prunes are now being budded on 
myrobalan seedlings, and our nurserymen usually have large, thrifty 
myrobalan trees from which they secure their seed supply. Growing 
stock from myrobalan cuttings is not practiced. Experience has 
shown that the myrobalan root thrives in this State both in low, 
moist, valley lands, in comparatively dry lands, if not too light and 
leachy, and in stiff upland soils. 

In some soils especially adapted to the peach, peach roots are 
preferred as stock for the French prune, but, as already said, all 
plums can not be worked directly on the peach root, the Robe de 
Sergeant, Columbia, Yellow Egg, Washington, Diamond Tragedy, 
Grand Duke, and Sugar Prune, for example. Sometimes the bud 
or scion may make a large growth, but the two woods do not unite, 
and the trees are likely to break off sooner or later. 

Some work the plum on the apricot root because the apricot root 
is perhaps more tolerant of a certain amount of alkali in the soil, 
but sometimes the French prune top parts from the apricot root 
even after growing some time upon it. There are, however, instances 
of the French prune thriving, and, apparently making good union 
with the apricot root ; and some of the softer wood varieties, like the 
Sugar prune, take kindly to it. 

Some plums do well on the almond root and some do not. The 
French prune succeeds admirably both when worked on young 
almond stocks and top grafted in old almond trees. But the almond 
root is chiefly suited to w^arm, dry soils. Excellent results from the 
use of almond stock are reported from the interior valley and the 
Sierra foothills on soils which are deep and free. 

Propagating by Sprouts. — The French practice of growing cer- 
tain varieties of the plum by means of sprouts from the base of old 
trees was successfully followed in this State by Felix Gillet, of 
Nevada City, and was strongly commended by him as securing a 
tree which will not gum, which is one of the reasons why the same 
practice prevails in France. Sprouts growing at the foot of old 
and large trees, and but few are found to each tree, are taken off 
and planted close together in a bed to make them root well, and the 
ensuing spring planted in nursery rows, where they are trained like 
any other trees, and transplanted where to remain, when branched. 
For this method it is necessary that the parent tree should be upon 
its own roots, else one is apt to get suckers from a wild stock. 
Sprout-grown trees can not, however, be defended unless some 



PRUNING THE PLUM 



275 



special point like that claimed by Mr. 
them. 



Gillet can be attained by 



PLANTING AND PRUNING 

As with other trees, there is a difference of opinion as to the best 
distance apart for plum trees. The present tendency is toward 
wider planting; not nearer than twenty feet is the usual advice, and 
on rich land, twenty-two, twenty-four or twenty-six feet is better. 

The plum, in California, is a most rapid grower ; six to ten feet 
from the bud or graft in a season, and about as much after the first 
winter's cutting back, is not at all unusual. At this rate of progress 





Pruning after first summer's 
growth in orchard 



Growth during second summer 
in orchard 



then, the tree soon runs up and away, in a spindling, sprawling 
fashion, unless severely cut back for the first few years. Neglected 
trees of some varieties show long, streaming branches, arching out- 
ward, and exposing the bark to sunburn (to which it is very sensi- 
tive), breaking the tree to pieces as the fruit gets weight, and, even 
if supported by props, breaking off at the bearing of the prop. This 
condition of the tree can only be obviated by low heading and 
moderate cutting back each year, with due regard to limiting the 
amount of bearing wood to get large fruit. For such plum varieties 
the suggestions on forming the tree and subsequent treatment in 
Chapter XII will be found helpful. 



276 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Pruning the French Prune. — Growers of the French prune, and 
Other varieties of similar growth of strong and phable wood, have 
reached substantial agreement as to the best practice. The old 
method of cutting back bearing trees has been abandoned. Cutting 
back the young tree to secure sufficient low branching is followed 
by thinning of shoots from this low head so that the tree shall not 
become too dense or carry too much bearing wood. The strength 
in the head depends upon proper spacing and arrangement of the 
branches as insisted upon in Chapter XII; and large, well-ripened 
fruit, which is essential to successful and profitable drying, is con- 
ditioned upon avoiding excess of branches and admission of suffi- 
cient light to the tree — but in the interior valley care must be taken 
not to open the center of the tree too much. 

A rather longer central stem is retained than in the old style, 
and a central stem throughout is admissible if one prefers it and 
does not desire to dispens with it as the first step toward securing 
a more open tree. Some retain the longer stem at planting, others 
cut back to eighteen inches, develop three side branches upon that 
and train the branch from the top bud for a lengthening of the stem, 
and bring out more branches upon that the second year, and then 
dispense with its farther extension. The adjacent engravings show 
this method of developing the head of a young French prune. The 
tree was cut back at planting in orchard to a straight switch about 
eighteen inches high. At the end of the first summer this showed 
the form in the first picture, which is marked (with short cross 
lines) for the first winter pruning. The second engraving shows 
the branching developed from this during the second summer's 
growth, also marked to prune away some undesirable branches. 
Upon a tree of this form further cutting back is not desirable as it 
has enough well-placed branches to form the tree. 

How long cutting back shall continue depends partly upon the 
locality and partly upon the notion of the owner. In interior locali- 
ties the tree grows with great rapidity and branches more freely. 
During the third summer it will bear some fruit if not cut back the 
previous winter, and, where growth is so rapid, there is little danger 
of injuring the tree by early bearing. In the coast valleys cutting 
back may continue another year, and fruiting be thus postponed a 
year to get another summer's freer wood growth. There are, how- 
ever, very good orchards in which the trees were only cut back two 
years, and summer pinching and winter thinning of shoots and re- 
moval of suckers have given good results. 

Though cutting back may properly cease early with the French 
prune, it is a great mistake to allow the trees to go unpruned. 
Removal of defective wood, prevention of branch crowding and 
overbearing are of the highest importance, as insisted upon in 
Chapter XII. Removing surplus laterals at their starting points, 
and cutting back leaders to laterals already grown and not to en- 
courage new branching, will result in a more open tree, which is 
generally very desirable. 

Renewal of Fnench Prunes. — When a French prune tree gets old 
and set in an unprofitable way it may be necessary to cut back for 



PRUNING THE PRUNE 277 

new wood-growth, but if it has not too far weakened and still has 
reserves, new fruiting wood can be promoted on old branches in- 
stead of removing them. This is done by spur or twig pruning as 
practiced by Mr. A. Taylor in the Santa Clara Valley : 

Clip all but three or four buds on the twigs on the outside of the tree, 
not touching many twigs inside, except to thin them out where too thick. 
This is done October to March — none in summer, because he does not like 
the evaporation. The cut is made just above a bud or short fruit spur — not 
just above a little limb, except in special cases. In the first year, some 
effect, but not extensive, will be seen in the new fruit spurs forced out 
from dormant buds further back on the limbs. New wood growth several 
inches long will come from the two buds nearest the cut and also on the 
undipped twigs farther down on the limb, which would not have put out 
wood growth otherwise. 

Having clipped back the twigs for three years in succession, an ordinary 
tree will have as much new wood as may be desirable, and no pruning 
should be done in the next two years. As a rule each added year of clip- 
ping brings out double the length of new wood. Specially vigorous trees 
will have too much new wood. This should be thinned out by cutting 
entire twigs ofif at their junction with the next larger ones. None should 
be clipped, for that induces more wood. The thinning will not cause new 
wood growth for a j^ear or two, but the dormant buds at the base of the 
thinned-out twigs may grow into fruit-bearing wood the following season 
if end twigs have been clipped. 

The job is a slow one, but every cut heals over — there are no rotting 
stubs, and it forces fruit growth inside the tree, because the inside is filled 
with fruiting limbs and spurs, which are distinguished from the suckers 
by their oblique growing and the large number of close-together fruit buds 
on them. 

Special Studies o£ Varieties in Pruning. — The points just ad- 
vanced apply especially to the management of the French prune. 
The grower must be exhorted to study the habit of the variety he 
has to deal with. The general rules for handling trees with different 
habits of growth are applicable to a certain extent to the plum. 
When to apply a rule or make an exception must be learned by 
observation and experience. Some plums have something of the 
growth habit of the peach, and this is also very true of some of the 
Japanese varieties. Cutting back in winter and pinching in summer 
are both useful facts in securing lower branching and low-growing 
fruit spurs. Longer pruning of plums is successfully practiced in 
the Sierra foothills where wood growth is not so free as in valley 
situations. Mr. Ed Ames of Newcastle, whose experience with the 
peach is given in Chapter XX, works in this way with his shipping 
plums : 

With plums, all there is to do is to get them started right and then cut 
out only the dead or broken wood. All the sap goes to fruit. The fruit is 
generally of the fanciest sizes. The limbs bend to the ground but seldom 
break and are seldom propped. They do not swing in any wind we have 
here, enough to even brush the bloom from plums; partly because they 
are always heavily loaded and low down. Some varieties of Japanese plums 
require removal of some laterals; but Wickson, Formosa, Gaviota, and 
Kelsey do not. 

The formation of the vase-form with continuous laterals, as dis- 
cussed in Chapters XII and XX, is being successfully practiced by 
some growers with plum varieties which need shorter pruning than 
the French prune requires. 



278 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Grafting the Plum. — The plum has been grafted and regrafted 
in the constant effort to secure varieties promising superiority in 
various directions. Within the scope of their affinities plums graft 
easily by common top-grafting methods, and if the roots are strong 
the new growth is so rapid as to need special attention. Mr. Luther 
Bowers gives these hints about pruning such growths : "From prac- 
tical experience I have found out that the Sugar prune wood should 
only be summer-pruned and only cut while the shoots are tender, 
or so soft that the top can be pinched out ; this will cause the top 
to be well branched and this should be done at least twice during 
the first year of the graft. This system will avoid long, slender 
limbs. After a graft is two years old I would never cut the top off 
of a limb. If a tree gets too thick a top, I would cut out some of the 
main branches." 

THE PLUMCOTS 

One of the most striking achievements of Mr. Burbank is the 
cross of the plum and the apricot, which he has very fitly named 
the "plumcot." The fruit is about the size of an ordinary apricot 
with a deep purple velvety skin. One of its striking features is the 
brilliant red flesh possessed of a strong sub-acid flavor rendering it 
suitable for cooking, jellies and jams, and it is in good demand for 
such uses, but its economic value is still to be determined. Several 
named varieties are now supplied by nurserymen. 

HOW A PRUNE QUEST DISTURBED THE PLUM 
FAMILY IN CALIFORNIA 

Referring to the distinction between plums and prunes cited at 
the opening of this chapter, and to the extent and methods of the 
great prune industry of the State which will appear in Chapter XL, 
it may be stated here that the California prune product was obvi- 
ously undertaken in emulation of the globe-trotting French prune, 
which had attained position as the leading commercial dried fruit 
of the world long before California arose on the horticultural hori- 
zon. Naturally, French settlers in California bethought themselves 
of transplanting this great industry to their new home, and Mr. 
Louis Pellier introduced scions from the district of Agen to his 
place near San Jose in 1856. The product was good, and planting for 
a large output was entered upon, though slowly at first. There was 
disappointment over the fact that, while all fruits came surprisingly 
large in California, the dried prunes were smaller than the great 
French prunes in cartons and canisters which sold for great prices. 
Had we secured the true French prune ; did they not have larger 
ones which they were holding back from us? This was the great 
question of six decades ago. Some nurserymen of that day had 
spirits of enterprise larger than their consciences. If the people 
demand larger prunes they must have them, surely. Because of 
the small average size of the prunes of Pellier's introduction, they 
christened that variety "petite prune d'Agen," which was subse- 
quently corrupted into "petty prune" — a free translation and a 



WHY THE FRENCH PRUNE IS BEST 279 

mispronunciation at the same time, for a prune which seemed to 
be too small and inferior. The people must have something large, 
and propagators offered trees of the "gros prune d'Agen," or the 
"Hungarian prune." It was a double misnomer, because Europe 
does not have any "gros prune d'Agen" and the variety did not 
come from either France or Hungary, but was the old large light 
red, English plum, properly called Pond's Seedling, re-christened in 
California to meet a long-felt want. But it did not meet such a 
want ; it would not dry sweet nor fleshy, but became merely a skin 
and pit, with a sour streak between. Still the question persisted : 
Have we the true French prune? It was definetely settled by the 
late W. B. West of Stockton, Avho visited France in 1878, and after 
close examination of the trees, announced that the variety grown 
in California was really the prune d'Agen, and that we had made 
no mistake so far as getting the main standard variety of French 
prune was concerned. 

But still we needed a variety which would run more to large 
sizes, and how to get it, with sweetness and flesh, characters which 
would resemble the best French product, was, and even now is, still 
a question. One of the early introductions to meet this end is now 
generally known as Robe de Sergeant. Here again confusion at- 
tends the name. Robe de Sergeant it one of the synonyms of prune 
d'Agen, and yet the fruit we secured was different. Much dis- 
cussion was given to the elucidation of this problem, and the con- 
clusion seemed to be that the variety is grown in France, but in 
another district, and is generally considered inferior to the prune 
d'Agen. Still it runs larger, and has sold well, even though of dis- 
tinctly different quality, and would probably have cut a much larger 
figure in California prune production if it had shown itself to be 
more free and regular in bearing. Next came the "prune d'ente, or 
Imperial epineuse," introduced at about the same time by John 
Rock and Felix Gillet, which has been quite widely planted, but 
because of shy bearing, especially when attacked by thrips, and 
because of the difficulty in drying such a large prune, this variety, 
of which so much was expected, has fallen into disfavor for the low 
lands of the Santa Clara Valley, though on the mountains west of 
this valley and in the prune valleys north of the Bay of San Fran- 
cisco it has proved very popular and profitable when planted on 
uplands. 

Other introductions made much earlier, like the German and 
Italian, also fell out of the race very early, for shy bearing and for 
different flesh characters. Although the latter leads in Oregon and 
other States north of us, it is out of California calculations. The 
conclusion of the whole matter now is that we have never secured 
from abroad a better than the one which came more than sixty years 
ago — the true prune d'Agen. We have learned to grow it better, to 
seek places where it grows larger and in full quantity ; to use irriga- 
tion when it is needed by the tree to do its best ; to guard against 
overbearing by reducing the amount of bearing wood and excessive 
branching; to strengthen the soil by fertilization, and to grade the 
fruit into sizes which commend themselves to different demands. 



280 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Here we are again, doing our main business at the old stand, but 
knowing how to do it better. Have we anything more to expect? 
Probably nothing from old varieties, for we have prospected them 
all from a prune-making point of view, holding for a time to Coe's 
Golden Drop plum, or its seedling, the Silver prune, and canceling 
all others as possibly good plums for various uses, but not for prunes. 
But the "Silver Prune" is now in the discard because a light-colored, 
sulphured prune, is not in large demand. 

Probably our only expectation lies along the line of plant breed- 
ing, although nothing to supplant the prune d'Agen has yet been 
attained. The Giant prune is a large red plum ; several Oregon 
prunes are simly large red plums. The standard of sugar in the 
prune d'Agen as grown in California is from 15 to 23 per cent of 
sugar in the fresh juice, according to degree of ripeness and localities 
in which the fruit is grown. The sugar in Pond's Seedling and in 
the large red plums just named is less than 10 per cent — sometimes 
very much less. But percentage of sugar in the juice is not the 
whole story ; there are tissue or flesh characters which are essential 
also. Mr. Burbank's Sugar prune answers the sugar requirement; 
it is a free bearer and early ripening variety, and it dries easily 
though large, and the small dried product thus far made has sold 
well, but it has not the fine grain nor distinctive flavor of the prune 
d'Agen, and the pit is large and rough. It becomes a good plum 
for shipping and possibly for other plum purposes. But Mr. Bur- 
bank has held the plum family in training, and introduced the 
Standard prune in 1914. It is large, handsome, dark blue while still 
firm but has never gained much favor as a shipping plum. As a 
drying prune it has several defects : it loses too much weight in 
curing ; its flesh is too coarse ; it must be thoroughly ripened beyond 
coloring before picking for the trays, and it does not indicate its 
own maturity by dropping, as the French prune does. 

No substitute for the French prune has manifested equality in 
flavor, texture of flesh, smallness and smoothness of pit, retention of 
weight in curing and ease of handling for a cured prune. Public 
interest has turned from the quest of a larger substitute to the selec- 
tion of natural variations toward larger size of the French prune 
itself, as found on bearing trees. Mr. Leonard Coates of Morgan 
Hill pursued this line for many years and is propagating several 
notable variations. More recently other propagators have taken 
up the same line and in 1921 our leading nurserymen are all offering 
"improved" French prune varieties which seem to indicate that the 
best prune possible will be a selection from the type which we se- 
cured from France over sixty-five years ago, though the relative 
value of those offered are not yet determined. 

POLLINATION OF PLUMS 

The shy bearing of certain plums is due to lack of pollination, 
either through the self-sterility of the variety or lack of acceptable 
pollinating agencies. Bearing can be induced in many cases by 
either planting or grafting-in of effective pollinating varieties. For 



POLLINATION OF PLUMS 281 

instance, experience has shown that the Tragedy can be brought to 
greater bearing by the presence of other varieties of European 
species, and the Hungarian is well pollinated by the Peach and the 
Grand Duke plums. The bearing of Wickson is greatly increased 
by association with Climax. It is clearly demonstrated that planters 
of plums should pay attention to association of varieties except in 
the case of the French and the Sugar prunes, neither of which re- 
quire cross-pollination. 

Careful studies of prune pollination have been made during the 
last seven years by Prof. A. H. Hendrickson both with reference to 
varieties and the desirability of bees as pollinating agencies and 
the results published in Bulletins 291 and 310, which can be had by 
application to the University Experiment Station at Berkeley, and 
they should be studied by all planters. The work is still in prog- 
ress in 1921 and new results being recorded which can be had by 
correspondence with the Division of Pomology at Berkeley. 

THINNING PLUMS 

In shipping plums it is essential to thin the fruit systematically 
as stated in Chapter XII, to get fancy sizes. The smaller varieties, 
such as Beauty, Diamond, etc., should be left about an inch apart, 
while Gaviota, Formosa, Grand Duke, Santa Rosa and Wickson 
may be left two to two and a half inches apart. Imperfect plums 
should be removed first, and in all cases care must be exercised to 
avoid loosening the stems of those remaining. 

IRRIGATION OF PLUMS AND PRUNES 

Irrigation of plums and prunes to secure size of fruit and thrift 
of trees, is undertaken in different producing regions as local con- 
ditions may require. The discussions in Chapter XVI have par- 
ticular applicability to the plum family. 

VARIETIES OF PLUMS AND PRUNES 

As with other fruits, comparatively few varieties of the plum 
are largely grown in California, and the list is continually changing 
by rejection of old varieties and introduction of new which, for ship- 
ping purposes, are largely of Burbank origin. 

The 1920 conferences of growers, canners and nurserymen 
reached the following conclusions on plum varieties : 

Approved for Shipping. — Anita, Beauty, Cal. Blue (Vacaville), Burbank, 
Climax, Diamond, Gaviota, Giant, Grand Duke, Duarte, Hungarian, Kelsey, 
President, Santa Rosa, Tragedy, Wickson. Additional for home use: Apex 
Plumcot, Damson, Satsuma. 

Disapproved. — Clyman, Coe's Golden Drop, Abundance, Botan, Fellen- 
burg, Formosa, German, Paragon, Red June, Standard, Sugar. 

Approved for Canning. — The canners recommend planting 25 per cent 
Washington, 40 per cent Yellow Egg, 25 per cent Jefferson, 10 per cent 
Bavey's Green Gage. Disapproved: Imperial Gage. 



282 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The following list includes not only those at present commended 
but those previously planted and which are to be found still in serv- 
ice in different parts of the State : 

Simon (Prunus Simoni). — Medium to large, roundish, flattened, with 
cavities at base and apex; brick red, small 3'^ellow spots; grown for shipment 
in earb' interior regions, where it has good quality; lacks flavor and cracks 
badly near the coast. Being displaced by Burbank varieties. 

Climax (Burbank). — Large; very early; heart-shaped; deep red; flesh 
yellow. Popular for shipping in places where it does not crack badly. Grow- 
ing in favor. A good pollinizer for Japanese varieties. 

Beauty (Burbank). — Resembles Climax, but two weeks earlier. Called 
the best early plum for shipping. 

Clyman (California seedling introduced by Leonard Coates). — Large, 
roundish oblong, flattened suture indistinct; mottled reddish purple; beauti- 
ful blue bloom ; freestone. Being displaced. 

Red June (Japanese). — Medium to large, deep red flesh light yellow, firm, 
good quality. Being displaced. 

California Blue; syn. Vacaville. — Seedling of peach plum by W. W. Smith, 
Vacaville; large, good flavor; early; "first really good blue plum." 

Tragedy (California seedling). — Aledium to large, suture shallow, wide 
and extending bej^ond apex; dark purple ; flesh yellowish green, sweet and 
well flavored; freestone. Very valuable for shipping from early regions in 
all parts of the State. 

Abundance (Japanese). — Syns. Yellow-fleshed Botan, Mikado of Hinclay. 
Large, globular with point at apex; cherry color covered with white bloom; 
flesh yellow, juicy and rich. Being displaced. 

Peach (French prune peche). — Very large, roundish oblate , regular, flat- 
tened at ends; suture district, shallow; color varying from salmon to light 
brownish red. Becoming less prominent. 

Royale Hative (French). — Medium roundish, slightly wider at base; light 
purple stalk half an inch long, stout, scarcely sunk; flesh amber yellow, with 
rich, high flavor, nearly free from the small, flattened, ovate stone; shoots 
very downy. 

Bradshaw. — Large, obovate, with obtuse suture on one side, sometimes 
with very slight neck; dark purple, with light blue bloom; stalk three-fourths 
inch long; cavity narrow; flesh a little coarse, becoming light brownish 
purple. Not in high favor. 

Green Gage (French). — Rather small, round; suture faint green, becoming 
yellowish green, usually with reddish brown dots and network at base; stalk 
half to three-fourths inch, scarcely sunk; flesh pale green, melting, juicy, 
exceedingly rich, and flavor excellent; shoots smooth. 

Burbank. — Tree imported from Japan by Luther Burbank. Almost glob- 
ular, being five and a half inches around horizontally, and five and five-eighths 
inches around vertically; rich cherry red, slightly mottled with yellow, and 
freely dotted with same tint; flesh deep yellow, juicy, very sweet, and of 
fine, somewhat peculiar, but very agreeable flavor; pit is very small, three- 
fourths by a trifle over half an inch in diameter. 

Duane's Purple (New York). — Very large, oblong, oval, longer on one 
side; slightly narrowed towards the stalk; reddish purple, bloom lilac; stalk 
three-fourths inch; slender; cavity narrow, flesh juicy, moderately sweet. 

Washington (New York). — Very large, roundish oval, suture obscure, 
distinct at base; yellowish green, faintly marbled, often with pale red blush; 
stack half to three-fourths inch; slightly downy; cavity wide, shallow; flesh 
rather firm, sweet, mild, very rich and luscious, free from the pointed stone; 
shoots downy; very vigorous. 

Grand Duke. — Large oval, necked; deep purple with blue bloom; flesh 
greenish yellow, fair quality. A good shipper, following Hungarian in 
ripening. 



VARIETIES OF PLUMS 283 

President (H. A. Bassford). — Large oval, dark purple, with deep bloom; 
follows Grand Duke, and stands high as a mid-summer shipper. 

Wickson. — A crossbred by Luther Burbank; form suggests the Kelsey, 
but more symmetrical; in ripening the color develops from a deep cherry 
red down to a rich claret as full ripeness is attained. The color is solid and 
uniform. The flesh is of amber tint, very juicy and translucent; the pit is 
small and shapely, the flavor is striking and agreeable, but likely to be de- 
ficient near the coast. 

Yellow Egg; syns. White Egg, White Magnum Bonum (English). — Very 
large, oval, narrow at ends, necked at base, suture distinct; stalk one inch, 
not sunk, surrounded by fleshy ring at insertion; light yellow, bloom thin, 
white, flesh firm, rather acid until fully ripe, and then sweet, adheres to 
pointed stone. 

Jefferson (New York). — Large, oval, base slightly narrowed, suture slight; 
greenish yellow, becoming golden, with reddish cheek; bloom thin, white; 
stalk one inch, but little sunk or not at all; flesh rich yellow, very rich, juicy, 
high flavor and luscious, adheres partly to its long, pointed stone; shoots 
smooth; tree a slow grower, but productive. 

Columbia (New York). — Very large, nearly globular, one side slightly 
larger; brownish purple, reddish brown where much shaded, with many 
fawn-colored dots; bloom blue, copious; stalk one inch, rather stout; cavity 
small; flesh orange, very rich and sweet, free from the stone, which is very 
small and compressed. 

Satsuma; syn. Blood Plum of Satsuma. — Introduced by Luther Burbank of 
Santa Rosa. Leaves more lanceolate than those of Kelsey; fruit averages 
about two and a quarter inches in diameter, nearly round, and but slightly 
sutured on one side; surface dark red, under a thick bloom; dots rather con- 
spicuous and numerous; flesh dark purplish red; stone very small and pointed. 
Chiefly grown in Southern California for local use and trade. 

Duarte. — Resembles Satsuma, but ripens earlier; said to be the earliest 
blood plum. 

Red Magnum Bonum; syn. Red Egg. — Large, oval, tapering to the stalk; 
suture strong, one side swollen; deep red in the sun; slight bloom; stalk one 
inch, slender, cavity narrow; flesh greenish, coarse, subacid; shoots smooth. 

Anita (Millard Sharpe). — Very large, oblong, purple with deep blue 
bloom, flesh yellow, freestone; good for shipping, but capable of drying as 
a prune; ripens after Tragedy and before Diamond. 

Diamond. — Large, deep purple; handsome but not high quality; ripens 
after Japanese, and sells well at the East as a cooking plum. 

Imperial Gage (New York). — Medium size, oval, suture distinct; stalk 
three-fourths inch, slightly hairy, evenly sunk; green, slightly tinged with 
yellow, with marbled green stripes; bloom copious and white; flesh greenish, 
juicy, melting, rich, and delicious, usually free, from the oval, pointed stone; 
tree very vigorous and productive; shoots long upright, slightly downy; 
leaves with slight shade of blue. 

Damson (English). — Small, roundish, oval; purple, with thick blue bloom; 
melting, juicy, subacid. 

German Prune (Common Quetsche, Germany). — This name has been 
applied in this State to numerous plums and prunes which are sold under 
it The fruit of the true German prune is long oval, and swollen on one 
side; skin purple, with thick blue bloom; flesh firm, green, sweet, with a 
peculiar pleasant flavor; separates readily from the stone; inclined to drop 
before ripening. 

Kelsey (Japan). — Trees brought from Japan by the late Mr. Hough, of 
Vacaville, in 1870, and purchased by the late John Kelsey, of Berkeley, who 
propagated and fruited them for several years. First wide distribution was 
made by W. P. Hammon & Co., in 1874, who named the fruit after Mr. Kel- 
sey. Tree willowy, leaves narrow, twigs brownish gray. Fruit from one 
and a half to two and a half inches diameter, heart-shaped, with a distinct 
suture on one side from stem to apex; stem is short, and set in a de- 
pression at the larger end; colors mixed yellow and purple, which vary in 



284 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

depth, but rarely make a brilliant appearance, covered with bloom; flesh 
yellow, very firm, clings to pit which is small, quality good. Being displaced 
by other Japanese varieties, but usually sells well from region where it colors 
well; very firm and clings to the stone which is rather small, and nearly 
always partly surrounded by a cavity; when fully ripe the quality is very good. 

Hungarian Prune; English Pond's Seedling; Gros Prune d'Agen (Eng- 
lish). — Fruit very large, ovate,' slightly tapering to stalk; skin thick, reddish 
violet, with numerous brown dots, and covered with handsome bloom; rather 
coarse, juicy, sweet; a very showy fruit; tree a strong grower and prolific 
bearer; fruit has a tendency to double; sells well in local and distant markets 
on its style and is largely grown. 

Giant. — Burbank seedling; very large, dark crimson upon yellow ground; 
flesh yellow, flavor good; freestone. A shipping plum. 

Splendor. — Burbank seedling; medium size but larger than French prune; 
clear, red, drying dark, does not shake from the tree; earlier than French 
prune. 

Sugar. — Burbank seedling, introduced in 1898; large and sweet; sugar in 
fresh fruit 23.92 per cent; not of highest quality as a cured prune, but sells 
well; also good for shipping; oval, slightly flattened; dark purple with thick 
white bloom; freestone; early. 

Standard. — Burbank cross of Sugar and Tragedy. Large, purple, blue 
bloom; flesh fine grained, amber, juicy and sweet; freestone. 

Imperial Epineuse; syn. Clairac Mammoth. — Introduced in 1884 by Felix 
Giltet and in 1886 by John Rock. Uniformly large, more oval than the 
French prune; nearly of the same color but somewhat lighter or reddish 
purple; earlier than the French and with thinner skin. Condemned for thrips 
injury and shy bearing. 

Prime d'Agen; syn. Petite Prune d'Agen; French Prime, etc. — This is the 
drying prune at present most widely grown in this State. It is described 
by John Rock as follows: "Medium-sized, egg-shaped, violet purple, very 
sweet, rich, and sugary; very prolific bearer." The leading drying-prune 
of California, commonly called "California French prune." Its standing is 
sketched in detail on a preceding page. 

Robe de Sergeant. — Fruit medium size, oval; skin deep purple, approach- 
ing black, and covered with a thick blue bloom; flesh greenish yellow, sweet, 
and well-flavored, sugary, rich and delicious, slightly adhering to the stone. 
This variety makes a larger, darker-colored prune than the prune d'Agen, 
and has sold in some cases at a higher price. It has recently been in disfavor 
in coast valleys for defective bearing, but is more satisfactory at some in- 
terior points. 

Coe's Golden Drop (English); syn. Silver Prune. — Very large, oval suture 
distinct, one side more enlarged, necked; light yellow, often dotted red to the 
sun; stalk three-fourths inch, rather stiflf; flesh yellowish, firm, juicy, and 
rich, closely adhering to the pointed stone; shoots smooth, rather glossy. A 
standard late variety for canning. 

Santa Rosa (Burbank). — Large, conical, deep purpled crimson, pale yel- 
low bloom; flesh pale yellow, rosy near skin, rich, juicy, delicious; ripens 
early; very prolific and popular. 

Formosa (Burbank). — Fruit is of uniform size, yellow with a pale bloom 
until nearly ripe, turning to a clear rich red. Flesh pale yellow, unusually 
firm, sweet, rich, delicious, with a delightful apricot flavor, nearly freestone; 
being discarded for shy bearing. 

Gaviota. — Burbank cross of Japanese and native American; very large, 
deep red; flesh yellow, firm and sweet; pit small; rather late bloomer. 
Favored in the Vacaville district for shipping. 

Bavay's Green Gage; syn. Reine Claude de Bavay (French). — Large, 
round oval, greenish yellow, spotted with red, with small violet-colored 
longitudinal veins; flesh rather firm, juicy, sugary, rich, of fine quality, ad- 
hering slightly to the stone; shoots smooth, leaves roundish, shining; a free 
grower and very productive. Approved by canners. 



VARIETIES OF PLUMS 



285 



Fellenberg; syns. Large German Prune, Swiss Prune, Italian Prune.— 

Medium size, oval, pointed and tapering at both ends; suture small, distinct; 
dark purple, with dark blue bloom; stalk one inch, scarcely sunk; flesh 
greenish yellow, juicy, sweet, delicious, parts from the stone; tree a free 
grower and very productive; late, excellent for drying. But little grown 
in California, but largely in Oregon. 

Coe's Late Red; syn. Red St. Martin.— Size medium, roundish, suture 
distmct on one side; skin light purplish red, or dark red; bloom thin, blue; 
stalk three-fourths inch, scarcely sunk; flesh rather firm, crisp, rich, vinous; 
very late, shoots downy. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE QUINCE 

The quince enjoys California conditions to the utmost, and re- 
wards the grower with large crops of very large and beautiful fruit. 
A quince weighing a pound is no curiosity, and it is unlikely that 
any city of the world can show such fine quinces at such low prices 
as San Francisco. The lesson from this fact is that the fineness of 
the fruit, and the evident adaptation of the State to its growth, 
should not alone be considered by the planter. The local consump- 
tion of quinces is naturally small, and it is chiefly for home preserv- 
ing and jelly making. Profitable sale of the fruit in large quantities 
in distant markets has been freely prophesied, but experience of 
shippers thus far has not warranted extension of quince production. 

But though the quince in California has at present narrow com- 
mercial limitations, a few trees should find a place in every orchard, 
for family use or local sale. 

CULTURE OF THE QUINCE 

The quince is readily grown from cuttings. Take good-sized 
shoots of well-matured wood of the current year's growth, after the 
leaves drop in the fall, and set out at once in nursery row in moist 
alluvial soil, or in any loose soil which is well drained and can be 
kept moist enough by cultivation or irrigation. 

Quinces are planted at all distances apart, and are grown either 
as bushes or trees. Undoubtedly the best way is to plant about 
fourteen or sixteen feet apart, and prune into low standard tree 
form. This can be done much as already advised for other fruit 
trees. An annual cutting back of about half of the new growth, 
while forming the tree, will strengthen the trunk and limbs and 
prevent the running out of long leaders, which droop to the ground 
on all sides when laden with fruit, and are often broken by the 
weight and the wind. Owing to the disposition of the quince to 
throw out several small shoots at a single point, it is advisable, when 
forming the tree, to remove all buds but one, just as the growth is 
starting. This will give one good, strong branch where it may be 
needed, instead of several weak ones. Pinching ofif shoots which 
start out too vigorously or at undesirable points is, of course, 
advisable. 

Fruiting of the quince can be promoted by summer pruning — 
thinning out or reducing the number of shoots and stopping the 
extension of those which you retain by pinching the tips and causing 
them to send out laterals. This should be done in June, when the 
new growth has run out a foot or two. When the foliage is reduced 
by opening the center, removing a great many shoots entirely and 
shortening the others, the overgrowth of wood is discouraged and 



VARIETIES OF THE QUINCE 287 

the remaining force of the plant is exerted upon strengthening the 
fewer shoots which remain to be acted upon. Of course winter 
pruning will not do this, for its effect is to cause more and not less 
wood growth. 

Soils for the Quince. — As the quince grows naturally in moist, 
though not wet lands, many persons think it always does best in 
springy ground or along the banks of rivulets; but though moist 
soils are preferable to dry, such positions are not essential to ob- 
taining large crops of fine fruit. In fact, the quince, like most fruit 
trees, prefers a well-drained location, and does best on a soil which 
can be freely worked. It thrives when fanned by the ocean breeze 
and does fairly well in the interior, providing it has moisture in the 
soil, and in some situations will require summer irrigation. 

VARIETIES OF THE QUINCE 

Though notably all varieties of the quince are introduced by our 
nurserymen and carried by them in small stock, most of the old 
plantations are of the "apple" or "orange" variety and newer plant- 
ings are chiefly Pineapple, Van Deman and Smyrna. The following 
may be enumerated, however, as growing in this State : 

Apple or Orange. — Large; bright yellow; the best. August and Sep- 
tember. 

Rea's Mammoth. — A very large and fine variety of the orange quince; 
a strong grower and very productive. 

Smyrna. — Introduced from Smyrna in 1897 by George C. Roeding of 
Fresno; large, lemon yellow, handsome, tender and delicious after cooking; 
keeps well; tree a strong grower, with heavy foliage. 

Pineapple. — Originated by Luther Burbank and distributed by him in 
1899; the result of a long efifort to secure a quince which would cook tender 
like an apple. The name comes from its flavor, which is suggestive of the 
pineapple. Resembles Orange quince, but is smoother and more globular. 

Van Deman. — Also by Burbank. Hardy and strong grower; early and 
prolific bearer; ripens through a long season and keeps well. 

Portugal. — Very large, and fine flavor, turns a fine purple or deep crimson 
when cooked. 

The Chinese Quince. — A most extraordinary fruit, oblong, of immense 
size, often weighing from two to two and one-half pounds; growth rapid 
and distinct. 

West's Mammoth. — Originated by W. B. West of Stockton, from seed 
received from Boston in 1853; of the Orange quince family; round, clear 
yellow; very large; fine flavor and for the class a very good keeper. 

Champion. — Fruit very large, fair and handsome; tree very productive, 
surpassing any other variety in this respect; bears abundantly when young; 
flesh cooks as tender as an apple, and without hard spots or cores; flavor 
delicate, imparting an exquisite quince taste and odor to any fruit with which 
it is cooked. 



PART FOUR: THE GRAPE 



CHAPTER XXV 



THE GRAPE INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA 

The grape grows in all parts of California below sea level in 
irrigated interior valleys and from near sea level on the coast to an 
elevation of 5000 feet or more on the mountains. It is contented, 
too, with nearly all fertile soils, from the deep valley loams, where 
the great fat, firm-fleshed grapes are grown for raisin and table 
grape shipments, to the shallow soils of the high foothills and moun- 
tain slopes, where the grapes are less in quantity, but of superior 
aromatic qualities. This wide adaptation gives an immense area 
suited for grape culture, but the chief reason for the achievement 
and the promise of the grape in California is in the fact that the 
European species, Vitis vinifera, thrives, and thus the California 
grower has command of all that Europeans have accomplished in 
centuries by developing special varieties of the species for special 
purposes. The grapes of the States east of the Rocky Mountains 
are only grown in California in a small way because the European 
varieties are the only ones from which raisins can be made ; they 
also furnish the word's wine and brandy, and they give size, beauty, 
and shipping quality beyond all comparison with American varieties. 
Wherever wealthy Eastern connoisseurs choose grapes for their 
glass houses, they select European varieties ; the Californian grows 
his "hot-house grapes" in the open air. He also grows most of 
them without the cost of trellising, because the European varieties 
generally will bear well in short-pruned, bush form — although the 
trellised area is increasing because of the wide planting of Thomp- 
son, Emperor, etc., which require long-pruning. 

California has a large acreage of grape vines, and planting has 
been very active during the last few years because of good prices for 
raisins and for fresh and dried wine grapes for home wine-making 
and for grape juice. At the same time, new economic and commer- 
cial problems are continually arising, and as the industry has to 
readjust itself to new conditions, discussion of such problems does 
not come within the scope of a cultural treatise like this. It is the 
duty of the grower to keep himself up to date on such subjects by 
faithful reading of California periodicals and by participation in 
public assemblies in the grape interest. Concerning cultural diffi- 
culties, the protection of the vine from its enemies and other prob- 
lems, special researches are constantly pursued by the University 
Experiment Station at Berkeley and publications are furnished on 
application. 

The culture of the grape is one of the great branches of Cali- 
fornia horticulture. Its three chief divisions are: Grapes for the 



WHERE CALIFORNIA GRAPES GROW 289 

table grapes for wine, and grapes for raisins. In all these branches 
the product has far exceeded local requirements and has become 
an important item in the export trade of the State. The attain- 
ments of the industry can be roughly measured by the statistics of 
the shipments of grapes and raisins, and the valuation of them 
which are given in Chapter VI. 

THE GRAPE AREA OF CALIFORNIA 

The grape has a very wide range in California. If the im- 
mediate seacoast and the higher altitudes on the mountains be 
excepted, the grape may be planted with a good chance of success 
anywhere if soil and local topography be suitable. As has been 
shown in Chapter I, the vine can approach quite close to the ocean 
if some shelter from prevailing cool winds be afiforded, and quite 
high on the mountains if one keeps out of depressions where late 
frosts are frequent. In planting the grape in doubtful situations 
much depends upon choice of proper varieties. For example, in 
the cool air of the coast region and the short summer of the higher 
altitudes, early maturing varieties must be the main reliance, for 
late sorts will not receive heat enough to bring them to full 
maturity. 

Away from immediate coast influences, and up to perhaps three 
thousand feet or more on the sides of the Sierra, the grape is suc- 
cessfully grown both upon the floors of the valleys and upon the 
hillsides. But there is still need of choice both of special locations 
and of varieties according to the purposes which the grower has in 
view. The coast valleys of the upper part of the State produce good 
table grapes, but they are unfavorable for the raisin industry be- 
cause of the deficient sunshine and excessive atmospheric humidity 
of the autumn months. The best raisins are made in the dry, heated 
valleys of the interior, and the conditions which there develop the 
fullest quality of the raisin grape also develop the sugar in some 
kinds of wine grapes beyond a desirable percentage. Here again 
the choice of suitable varieties intrudes itself, for the varieties which 
yield light table wines in the coast valleys may yield heavy "heady" 
wines in the interior. Valleys, too, as a rule, although they yield 
larger crops of grapes and greater measure of wine than similar 
area on the hillsides, must yield the palm for quality to the warm 
soils of the slopes. And here enters the business proposition whether 
large amount and less quality is better than less amount and higher 
quality. To this there can be no general answer. It depends upon 
the disposition which is to be made of the crop, and the demand 
for it. 

The coloring of certain varieties is a matter underlying their 
profitable production for fresh shipments and this is determined by 
local conditions concerning which the best information is actual 
observation of their effects. These few facts out of many which 
could be stated will serve to enforce the fact that wide as is the 
range of the grape, both localities and varieties for certain purposes 
must be intelligently chosen. 



290 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Soils for the Grape. — The grape will thrive on a great variety 
of soils, in fact, on any of those enumerated as fruit soils in Chapter 
III. There are thrifty vineyards on the light, deep valley loams, 
on the heavy clayey loams, on adobe, and on the red soils of the 
foothills. Even on shallow soils the grape will do well if given 
sufficient moisture, and on rocky subsoils it thrives if there be 
crevices for the roots to penetrate, or if the rock be shattered to 
admit the roots to permeable substrata. Standing water during the 
active period of the vine is, however, unfavorable to growth, and 
alkali is adverse to satisfactory results in wine making. Almost 
any soil which does not hold excess of water or is not tainted with 
alkali will do for the vine, although the plant appreciates good, 
deep soil, and will grow and bear fruit in proportion to its supply 
of it. Of course the economic question of ease of cultivation enters 
into the choice of soil for the grape, as for other fruits, but its claims 
are obvious and need not be enlarged upon. 

Length of Grape Season. — By choice of early and late varieties 
the grape season extends over half a year in California, without 
recourse to artificial means of preservation. Where the fall rains 
are not very protracted, the late varieties sometimes remain in good 
condition on the vines until the winter pruning. Good grapes have 
been picked from the vines as late as the middle of January. In 
the Lodi district of the San Joaquin Valley, one of the great centers 
of the grape shipping industry, overland shipping begins about 
August 10, with Black Prince. Tokays from light soil soon follow, 
then from the heavy soil, and in about two weeks everything is going 
at full blast, keeping up strongly for nearly two months. Then it 
decreases greatly and continues into November with the later 
varieties, like Cornichon, Emperor and Verdal. There are also a 
number of other shipping varieties grown than those named, which 
will be named in Chapter XXVIII. There is much latitude in 
grape gathering, for grapes can stay on the vine for some time 
without deterioration ; besides there is the "second crop" from later 
blooming which is of advantage in shipping, but objectionable in 
handling for raisins, though sometimes very profitable for other 
uses. Tokays may be picked during a period of two months in the 
same vicinity because of the "second crop" and because the ripening 
comes earlier or later according to soil, as noted above. Even the 
intrusion of a light fall rain, such as they have in the interior, may 
help size and color, but a heavy rain is destructive and constitutes 
a constant menace in the late ripening districts near the coast, while 
occasionally injurious in the interior also. 

Shipping Grapes in Sawdust. — The tabel grape industry of Cali- 
fornia entered upon a notable extenson of its marketing season and 
area through the demonstration by the United States Bureau of 
Plant Industry, that California grapes can be profitably packed in 
drums, holding about 35 lbs. of grapes, packed in redwood or spruce 
sawdust, properly prepared and held safely in cold storage for win- 
ter sale in the East — as Spanish grapes in cork dust are handled. 
Better results are attained with sawdust than with cork dust. Full 



SHIPPING GRAPES IN SAWDUST 291 

details are given in Bulletin 35, U. S. Dept. Agr., December 31, 
1913. In 1920 the U. S. Bureau of Markets announced (U. S. Market 
Reporter, December 11, 1920) that spruce sawdust can be used in- 
stead of redwood sawdust and that sawdust of fir and other conifers 
which have a turpentiny savor may perhaps also be used, as the 
odor departs after the exposure of the fruit to the air for a few 
hours. As these white-wooded trees grow and their lumber is sawn 
nearer to the grape-shipping districts than the redwoods are and in 
greater volume, the availability of their sawdusts may be of con- 
siderable importance. 

From shipments of 1912 of about thirty carloads, the movement 
in 1917 reached nearly 500 carloads. The grapes thus handled were 
chiefly Emperors, Cornichons and others. Thus far it seems to be 
demonstrated that Muscats can be sold this way until November 
15th, Malagas until December 15th, Emperors until about January. 
It is expected that if the Ohanez or Almeria grape is grown, the 
grape used in Spanish shipping, it can be safely held in storage 
until April 1. These are questions for the future, for so long as any 
kind of a juicy grape is selling at $75 to $100 and more per ton in 
the vineyard, as in 1920, it is hard to concentrate attention upon 
such a dry enterprise as growing fleshy grapes to pack in kiln-cured 
sawdust. 

In fact, all aspects of California grape growing have been so 
upset by prohibition that it is impossible to see the future clearly. 
It seems reasonable to think that even in its liquid phases, the grape 
industry of California may attain greatness under prohibition be- 
yond anything previously achieved. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

PROPAGATING AND PLANTING VINES 

The grape is propagated from seed or by layers, or by cuttings 
of various lengths. Growing from seed was somewhat resorted to 
in California to get stocks for resisting the phylloxera, but such 
wide variation in resistance occurred in seedlings that propagation 
by cuttings, of varieties demonstrated to be best in this regard, has 
become exclusive. There is at present little disposition to grow 
grape seedlings in the hope of securing better and hardier varieties, 
as is so largely done in other parts of the country. The vast num- 
bers of varieties of the European species, vinifera, which we have 
drawn from, makes the effort for new seedlings of little object. 

Growing Vines from Seed. — Seed is easily removed from the 
grapes by crushing the berries and stirring the pulp rapidly in 
water. From one pound of good, fresh seed one might get from 
two to three thousand seedlings. Some advocate sowing grape seed 
in; Ijhe fall, just as it is taken from the fruit, but best results are 
usually obtained by spring sowing, after danger from frost is over. 
It is advisable to keep grape seed moist for some time before sow- 
ing. Seed soaked one week in water and afterward allowed to lie 
in a heap for three weeks germinates quickly, starting in ten days 
or two weeks after being put in the ground. Professor Husmann 
advised pouring hot water on the seed and allowing it to cool, the 
seed remaining in the water for twelve hours, and after that it is 
kept for a week in a sack, exposed to the sun, and covered at night, 
the sack being moistened from time to time. 

The seed should be sown in the open ground, the soil having 
been worked deeply and finely, as for a garden. Sow the seed about 
an inch apart, in drills far enough from each other to admit the 
use of the cultivator in the summer ; cover not to exceed an inch 
in depth, and after moderate pressing of the ground, cover the 
whole bed with rotten straw, which should be gradually removed 
as the sprouts appear above the ground. This mulch will not only 
retain moisture, but will prevent the surface from being crusted 
by heavy showers. Summer cultivation with cultivator and hoe 
should be given. 

Growing Vines by Layering. — This is another method of multi- 
plying vines which is but little employed in California, because it is 
so much easier to secure plants by cuttings, as the vinifera species 
roots so readily. Layering consists in bending down and burying 
one of the lower canes so as to facilitate top and root growth from 
each of the buds. This is done early in the spring before growth 
begins. To hold the cane in place, stakes are used, the trench being 
left open untl the shoots grow out and then by covering the roots 
are developed. The cane must rest in moist earth, and usually has 



PROPAGATION OF GRAPE VINES 293 

to be watered artificially, as well as treated to prevent evaporation. 
The following winter the cane is raised and a plant made at 
each node. 

Another use for layering is to fill a vacancy in the row, a cane 
being taken from the nearest living vine. In this case the layer 
must be set in a deep trench so as not to be torn out by the plow, 
and the layered cane is at once covered in with earth, all but one or 
two buds at the extremity, where the new vine is desired. Such a 
layer usually bears the second year and is then detached from the 
parent vine. 

Growing Vines from Cuttings. — This is the prevailing method 
in this State both to secure grafting stocks and to grow vines on 
their own roots. In growing from cuttings, different policies are 
adopted, i. e., placing the cuttings in permanent place in the vine- 
yard, or rooting them in nursery to be afterward transferred to the 
vineyard as "rooted vines." First, the various kinds of cuttings 
will be considered, and their placing mentioned later. 

Growth from Single Eyes. — The use of single eyes or single buds, 
the shortest possible form of cutting, is not large in California, but 
some growers have reported good results. The method is to pre- 
pare the cuttings with a half-inch or so of the cane on each side of 
the bud and plant them carefully, with the bud upwards, in well- 
prepared soil, covering the cutting completely, but very little under 
the surface. Success depends upon retention of moistvire in the 
surface soil to induce rooting, and mulching is advisable. This 
method of propagation is obviously better adapted to nursery than 
to field growth. 

The Use of Longer Cuttings.* — It was formerly considered good 
practice to leave a piece of old wood attached to the base of the 
cutting, on the ground that such cuttings always grew. This prac- 
tice is now very generally abandoned, as the piece of old wood 
always decays finally, and the decay may spread into the trunk and 
roots of the vine. A good cutting should consist exclusively of 
one-year-old wood ; that is, the wood which has grown during the 
previous season. 

Choice of Cuttings. — The vines from which the cuttings are to be 
taken should be examined while they still hold their leaves and fruit, 
to see that they are healthy and of the variety desired. Vines which 
have suft'ered from drought or disease or which have been defoliated 
by insects or frost before the wood is mature yield poor cuttings. 
Wood (canes) from young vines which have not yet borne is often 
immature, and that from vines which have borne excessive crops 
is often ill-nourished. Cuttings from either are likely to fail or 
grow poorly. 

The best wood for cuttings is of medium size and with mod- 
erately short joints. Very short joints indicate disease and very 
long joints a lack of nourishment or maturity. 



*Much of the following description of handling cuttings is taken from the excellent Uni- 
versity publication by Prof. F. T. Bioletti, viz.: Circular 225, December, 1920. 



294 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The outer bark should be a clear yellow or purple brown, accord- 
ing to the variety, and without dark blotches or immature areas. 
When the cane is cut with a sharp knife the inner bark should appear 
green and full of sap, the wood should be hard and free from dark 
specks or streaks, and the pith of moderate size, clear, firm, and 
light colored. 

Cuttings which do not fill these specifications should not be 
planted directly in the vineyard. Less perfect cuttings may be 
planted in the nursery. Some are likely to grow well and will be 
suitable for vineyard planting the next year. 

Time to Make Cuttings. — Cuttings are supposed to be best if 
made from vines pruned within a week or two after the fall of the 
leaves, but, if the vines are healthy and the wood well matured, 
they may be made from vines pruned at any time from the fall of 
the leaves until a week before the starting of the buds in spring. 

It is best to make the cuttings as soon as possible after the vines 
are pruned ; but if the weather is cool the prunings may lie a week 
or two in the vineyard without injury. 

Method of Making Cuttings. — Cuttings of from half an inch to 
one-third of an inch in diameter are best, and they should not be 
more than 1 inch at the butt nor less than one-quarter inch at the 
top. The shorter they are the better, providing they can be made 
to root. In good nursery soil with special care cuttings of 8 inches 
do very well. Usually 10 to 12 inches is better. For direct planting 
in the vineyard they should be from 15 to 18 inches. The looser and 
drier the soil and the hotter the climate the longer they should be. 
In wet heavy soil in the cooler regions short cuttings are preferable. 

Kind of Cuttings. — Cuttings may be made from any part of the 
vine if they fill the specifications already given. In some cases only 
one cutting can be made from one cane ; in others, three, four, or 
more. There seems to be no reason to avoid suckers and water- 
sprouts if they are of the proper quality. Laterals, if large and well 
matured, make excellent cuttings and are often preferable in long- 
jointed varieties, like Sultanina. 

The base of the cutting should be as close as possible to a bud, 
providing the diaphragm or cross partition is left. If a pithy piece 
of wood is left at the base the cutting does not heal over when it 
roots and is apt to decay. At the top of the cutting about three- 
quarters of an inch of internode should be left above the upper- 
most bud. 

Care of Cuttings. — If the cuttings are made in planting time they 
should be planted as soon as made, with care to prevent drying. If, 
as is more usual, they are made several weeks or months before 
planting, their success depends very much on the way they are 
handled in the meanwhile. 

The amount of growth that a cutting will make the first year 
depends on the kind of soil it is planted in, the regularity and suf- 
ficiency of the water supply, and the temperature and length of the 
growing season. A properly handled cutting in suitable soil in the 



GROWING GRAPES FROM CUTTINGS 



295 



Imperial Valley will make as much growth in the first season as a 
similar cutting equally well handled in a cool locality will make in 
three seasons. 

Planting Cuttings. — In order to utilize the growing season to 
the full in any region, the cuttings should start to grow as early as 
they are reasonably safe from frost or prolonged cold wet weather. 



Properly made cuttings. 

The chief danger in the cooler regions is planting too early. Several 
weeks of cold wet weather may cause them to rot in the ground, 
especially in low places or in heavy soils. Under such conditions 
April is perhaps the best month for planting. In the hottest regions 
the chief danger is the drying of the cuttings before they root, or 
sunburn of the young growth before the roots are sufficiently devel- 



296 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

oped to supply water. In these conditions January or February are 
perhaps the best months for planting. In any case, it is important 
that the roots shall start as soon as or sooner than the leaves, and 
the cuttings should be handled with this object in view. 

Heat and water are necessary to start either roots or buds. We 
can delay either by keeping the cuttings dry and cool or hasten 
either by keeping them moist and warm. Too much heat may cause 
the cuttings to decay. There is little danger from cold, even freez- 
ing, if the cuttings are mature. Too m.uch water will cause rapid 
decay, especially at high temperatures. Dryness is less dangerous, 
especially at low temperatures. 

Callusing Cuttings. — In view of these facts, the best way of han- 
dling the cuttings before planting seems to be to bury them in mod- 
erately dry sand in a cool place until about two to three weeks before 
planting, then to moisten the sand, and increase its temperature 
until planting commences. 

A good way to do this is to place a pile of sand in a sunny place 
early in the season while dry sand can be obtained. The pile should 
be protected from surface water by means of a shallow surrounding 
trench. The moisture can be controlled by sprinkling if necessary or 
by covering with boards or canvas in case of too much rain. 

The cuttings, as soon as made, are put up in bundles of 100 to 
200, well tied and with the bittts all level. These bundles are then 
buried carefully and regularly in the sand pile with the butts up 
and all at the same level. Sand should be packed in between the 
bundles and as much as possible between the cuttings in the bundles, 
between 3 and 4 inches of sand should then be placed over the butts 
of the cuttings, making a perfectly level bed. 

To protect the cuttings from moisture and heat and so to keep 
them dormant the sand should then be well covered with 12 to 18 
inches of straw, chafif, or similar material. 

About two or three weeks before planting is to commence the 
straw covering should be removed and the 4-inch top layer of sand 
thoroughly moistened by sprinkling. The moisture and the heat 
from the sun will then start the process of root formation. The 
sand must be closely watched and sprinkled as often as is necessary 
to prevent drying, only enough water being used to moisten the top 
layer of sand. The drier the tops of the cuttings, which are at the 
bottom of the sand pile, the longer they will remain dormant. 

After seven to ten days the butts of the cuttings should be exam- 
ined every few days. As soon as they show signs of white healing 
tissue (callus) and checking of the joint where the roots are forming 
they are ready to plant. Planting should not be delayed until roots 
appear, as these roots will be destroyed in planting and others will 
have to form. 

When planting extends over several weeks, the removal of the 
sand layer should be gradual and at the same rate as the planting 
will take place so that the cuttings when planted will all be in the 
proper condition. 

This method is excellent and results in a large percentage of 
rooted vines and large growth. It is also dangerous because unless 



GROWING ROOTED VINES 297 

carefully and skillfully carried out the cuttings may be injured and 
not grow at all. 

Unless there is certainty of the method being properly carried 
out it is best simply to bury the cuttings in moderately dry sand in 
a cool place protected from sun and rain. A cellar, shed, or other 
shady place is suitable. 

Planting Cuttings in Nursery. — The cuttings may be planted in 
the nursery by means of spades and shovels, assisted sometimes by 
the use of a plow or other means, according to the character of the 
soil, the number of cuttings to plant, and the means available. The 
mechanical details will vary in each case. In all cases, however, cer- 
tain conditions must be observed to get the best results. 

The soil should be fairly rich. The texture is not of great impor- 
tance, though excessively sandy or very heavy soils are not suitable. 
The soil should be well plowed or subsoiled to a depth of at least 12 
inches, unless naturally open and loose. It should be well graded so 
that it can be easily and regularly irrigated. 

If the cuttings have been callused in the way described, they 
should be removed from the sand just before planting and carefully 
protected from drying by being placed in planting cans or boxes 
and covered with wet sacks. They should not be exposed to the sun 
or dry air for more than a few minutes, even when planting. 

If the cuttings have been kept in dry sand, they should be placed 
in water for 24 to 48 hours before planting. This is best done by 
placing them in five-gallon oil cans filled with water, where they 
should remain until taken to the field for planting. 

They should be planted with the second bud level with the 
ground, that is, with one full joint above the surface. A line or long 
batten should be used to insure the row being straight. This much 
simplifies cultivation and hoeing. The soil should be firmed around 
the butts and unless quite moist settled with water when the trench 
is about three-fourths full. The soil should then be brought up 
around the cuttings almost to the top bud by hand or a suitable im- 
plement so that each row of cuttings is in the middle of a slight 
ridge. This facilitates irrigation. 

If water has been run in while planting, no irrigation will be 
needed for about two weeks. Otherwise the nursery should be 
irrigated within a day or two after planting. Subsequent irrigation 
will depend on the soil and the climate, but it should be relatively 
frequent during the first part of the season so as to start growth 
early and to keep it going until the vines have made a top growth of 
12 or more inches and have developed a good root system that will 
make them less sensitive to drying out. 

Irrigation should stop early enough to prevent late growth. 
About the beginning or middle of September the tips should cease 
to make new growth and the canes should commence to show the 
brown of mature wood at the base. Usually no irrigation should be 
given after the last days of August. 

Digging and Care of Rooted Vines. — The vines may be dug as 
soon as they have dropped their leaves or may be left in the ground 



298 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

until they are needed for planting. The ground should be moist 
down to the roots, but not wet when the vines are dug. All that are 
fit to plant should be sorted into two classes, number 1 and number 
2. Number 1 vines are those which have made a well ripened top 
growth of at least 6 inches, have healthy roots of at least one-eighth 
inch diameter at the bottom, and show no dead areas or mechanical 
injuries on the part of the vine that represents the original cutting. 
Number 2 vines are those having a smaller growth but well matured 
wood and no serious defects. Vines showing black knot, nematodes, 
serious mechanical injuries, or little or no mature wood or roots 
should be rejected. 

The roots are tied up in bundles of 50 to 100, according to size, 
and the tops and roots shortened with a broad axe to 4 or 5 inches 
after tying. Each bundle should be furnished with a good label 
showing variety, number, and grade. They should not be exposed 
much to the sun and should be buried in moist sand the day they are 
dug. If they are to be kept long they should be buried in a shady 
place or shed. They should be kept as cool as possible until planted 
and should be planted before buds or roots have started to swell or 
to grow. In hauling or shipping they should be well protected from 
drying by means of wet sacks or wet straw if left out of the ground 
for more than two days. 



BUDDING AND GRAFTING THE GRAPE VINE 

Working over the grape vine is largely practised in this State 
and is easily accomplished. The occasion is twofold : Replacing 
undesirable varieties with those of better quality, or in better market 
demand, and in bringing the vinifera varieties upon roots which 
resist the attacks of the phylloxera. The latter will be mentioned 
presently. 

Budding the Grape. — Buds can be readily made to grow in grape 
canes, though budding is not largely used. Success can be had with 
the same method of budding that is common with fruit trees as 
described in Chapter IX. Insert the bud (which is taken from a 
cane of the previous season's growth) in the spring as soon as the 
bark will slip well on the stock, and before the run of the sap is too 
strong. Keep the cuttings in a cool place so their growth will be 
retarded, and then seize upon just the right condition of the stock, 
insert the bud under the bark of a cane of last season's growth, 
tie it around with a string, and the bud starts readily without 
further treatment; when its growth shows its ability to take the 
sap, the top of the stock is removed. 

Herbaceous budding is also practicable. It consists of taking 
buds from the current season's growth and working them upon 
canes also of current growth by the usual shield budding process. 
Mr. Thomas Casalegna of San Martin succeeds well with this under 
these conditions: All buds put in from July 15 to August 15 start 
the same year, but may be injured by fall frosts. Those put in 
from August 15 to September 15 remain dormant until the following 



GRAFTING GRAPE VINES 



299 



year, unless the stock is exceptionally vigorous. Budding is most 
successful in the month of August. The buds should be taken from 
canes which have reached the stage of maturity indicated by the 
pith turning white and just before the bark turns yellow. 

Grafting the Vine. — Grafting in old vine roots is a simple opera- 
tion, and is performed in various ways. The principles involved in 
vine grafting are similar to those affecting tree grafting, as de- 
scribed in Chapter IX. The processes employed are also similar, 
but the graft requires less binding and waxing is dispensed with, 
because the graft is made beneath the surface of the ground, and 
is, therefore, less subject to accident, exposure, and drying out. 

Grafting in the Old Stump. — This is resorted to when the char- 
acter of the vineyard is to be changed. Out of the many ways for 




Budding from previous season's growth. 



working into old stumps, one introduces the scion by a side cut into 
the stock without splitting across. The earth is removed from the 
old vine down to its first lateral roots, and the top is sawed off 
cleanly a few inches above the first laterals. A cut is then made 
into the side of the stump with a knife and mallet. The scion is 
then cut long enough so that one bud will remain above ground 
when the surface is leveled again, the bottom of the scion being 
given an oblique wedge-shape, so as to fit the crevice in the stock. 
Some care is needed in shaping the wedge of the scion, so that the 
surfaces in contact will give good results. If the stock is well 
made and the end of the scion so adjusted that the stock will pinch 
it when it is pushed into place, nothing more will be needed except 
to smear over the cut surface of the stump and the joint of the 
scion and stock with clay or with a mixture of two parts clay 
and one part fresh cow manure. If the scion is held firmly and 



300 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



sealed in with this mixture, it usually needs no tying, and the hole 
can be carefully filled with loose earth, with a strong stake to mark 
the place of the graft, and to which the new growth can be securely 
tied afterwards. 




3 3» ^ 

Methods of field grafting grape vines, 

A Whip graft for stocks 1-2 to 2-3 of an inch in diameter. 
B BB Whip graft for stocks 2-3 to 3-4 of an inch in diameter 
C, 'CC. Cleft graft for stocks 3-4 of an inch in diameter and for old 
stumps. 



GRAFTING GRAPE VINES 



301 



Another common method of grafting beneath the ground is to 
split the stump across its center, as is done in top-grafting fruit 
trees as shown in Chapter IX, and one or two scions inserted. If 
two are used and both grow, the weaker one is afterward suppressed. 
In this cross cleft graft some grafters rely upon the stock to hold 
the scion without tying, and daub it over with the clay mixture, 
care being taken to fill and cover the split in the stock to exclude 
water. Others put a ligature around the split stump. Strips of 
cotton cloth answer well for this purpose. Tying offers better 
security from knocking out the graft with the cultivator. 

In grafting into very tough old stumps, some growers place a 
slim wedge of wood in the cleft with the scion to prevent the stock 
from closing too forcibly upon the scion. 

Side Grafting. — Side grafting the vine is commended by some 
growers. It consists in inserting a graft by a cut into the side of 
the stock, the method being essentially the same as that employed 
with fruit trees, as described in Chapter IX, excepting that in side 
grafting the vine, the top is not amputated, but is allowed to bear 
its crop and is then removed the following winter. The next sum- 
mer the scion will bear a crop, and the vine is worked over without 
cessation in its bearing. 

Herbaceous Grafting. — This term is applied to a graft in which 
the scion of the current season's growth is set by a cleft graft into 
canes also of the current season's growth, while both scion and 
cane are elastic, but not too soft. The method has not been usually 
successful in this State, apparently because of the dryness of the 
summer air. Still some satisfactory results are reported. Mr. 
Casalegna of Santa Clara County, whose success with herbaceous 
buds has been noted, does well also with soft-wood grafting by the 
whip-graft method. He says it is most successful in June, provided 
the scions are hard enough. The pith must be white. In a strong- 
growing vineyard grafting may be done in July. The leaves are 
taken of the scions when they are cut. If they are to be used im- 
mediately they are placed in water ; if to be carried some distance 
they are placed in a wet sack. Tie the grafts with knitting yarn, 
not with raffia. The season for herbaceous grafting will, of course, 
vary according to the locality. Hot weather immediately following 
the work is fatal to most of the grafts. If two or three cool days 
follow the insertion of the scions he obtains an almost perfect stand. 

Care of Scions. — Scions should be kept cool and moist enough 
to prevent drying, but not wet enough to cause decay, as has already 
been described in the keeping of cuttings. 

Time of Grafting. — Grafting into old vine stumps is done in 
February, March and April in different parts of the State, March 
being the month usually chosen for the work. If a spring graft 
fails, the stump may be regrafted in August or in the following 
spring. In regrafting, the stump is cut off again below the previous 
cleft. The time for the work is when the sap has ceased flowing, 
usually from the first to the tenth of August. 



302 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Resistance to Phylloxera. — The recourse to resistant roots to 
escape the phylloxera has been attended with some disappointment 
because the wild roots at first widely used proved only partially 
resistant. Recently, in the main through the employment of French 
selected varieties of the American wild species, stocks with satis- 
factory resistance, larger growth and vigor and adaptation to differ- 
ent California soils have been secured. Notable success has been 
attained in the habilitation of vineyards on the basis of resistant 
roots. As this undertaking involves considerable outlay and as 
success depends taking advantage of the latest demonstrations of 
the affinities of varieties, the adaptations of roots to soils and the 
suitability of varieties for special purposes and the best method of 
grafting on resistants and the rooting of grafted cuttings, the latest 
information should be had from the University Experiment Station 
at Berkeley, before making investments.* 

LAYING OUT THE VINEYARD 

Vines are planted in rectangles, generally in squares, but some- 
times at a less distance in the rows than the rows are from each 
other. The stakes which are to represent the future vines are in 
either case placed by the same methods of measuring or marking 
off. All the methods described for clearing and preparing lands, in 
Chapter VII, and for laying off ground in squares, described in 
Chapter X, are applicable to vineyard ground. The measuring 
wire therein described is the means usually employed for laying 
off and small stakes or "markers" are placed at the points where 
vines are to be set. 

In row-planting the direction of the rows depends upon circum- 
stances. Mr. Fred. K. Howard of Fresno cites these points : 

For the raisin varieties the wide rows should as a rule run east and west 
to permit more rapid drying particularly with the Muscat, which is late 
ripening and must have every advantage or drying may be delayed until 
the early rains begin. It is possible that proper fall for irrigation water 
cannot be obtained either to the east or west, and with the trellised 
varieties like the Thompson or the Sultana it may be practically impossible 
to irrigate crosswise and it may be permissible to run the rows north 
and south. It is probably far better to be able to irrigate than to have 
east and west rows with ideal drying conditions and be unable to apply 
sufficient water to produce crops. 

Obviously in vineyards grown by rainfall and in sections where 
the land is all considerably on edge, other considerations must rule 
in laying off, which must be locally considered. 

Distance of Planting. — There is as much difference of opinion 
and practice in fixing the distance between vines as between orchard 
trees, but usually more room is given than formerly. Planted in 
squares, the distance varies from seven to ten feet, with eight feet 
as most prevalent, taking the State as a whole. Planting in rows 
is becoming more popular and particularly essential, as the long- 
pruned varieties are taken out on wire trellises rather than grown 



•Circular 226 (December, 1920) gives explicit information. 



PLANTING THE VINEYARD 303 

to high Stakes. Such plantations are made with the vines seven by 
ten or eight by ten feet, four and one-half by eleven feet ,etc. There 
is a great variation in the distances. Some advantages of the row 
system are as follows : Greater space to spread trays for raisin 
curing; plowing can be done with double teams or tractors and 
larger plows ; the brush can be gathered and burned between the 
rows instead of carrying it to the avenues; sulphur and materials 
for spraying can be brought in by team to any part of the vineyard ; 
empty boxes can be distributed and filled ones gathered up without 
carrying, etc. 

Number of Vines to the Acre. — However the vines be set, it is 
very easy to calculate the number of vines which an acre will 
accommodate. Multiply the distance in feet between the rows by 
the distance the plants are apart in the rows, and the product will 
be the number of square feet for each plant, which, divided into 
the number of feet in an acre (forty-three thousand five hundred 
and sixty), will give the number of plants to the acre. 

Avenues in the Vineyard. — For convenience of access with team 
and wagon there should always be avenues through the vineyard. 
They are usually arranged so as to cut up the vineyard into blocks 
about twice as long as broad, if the vineyard be on the level land. 
Of course, on hilly lands the avenues should be located for ease of 
hauling. The avenue is made by leaving out a row of vines, and, 
therefore, the exact size of the block will depend upon the distance 
between the rows. Some advise having not more than forty vines 
between the avenues. Planting in rows, with wide spaces between 
the rows, renders few avenues necessary. 

PLANTING CUTTINGS AND ROOTED VINES 

Various means are used for planting cuttings. An essential con- 
dition to successful growth is to have the lower part of the cutting 
well embedded in the soil, as it will not root unless in close contact 
with the earth. To lack of care in this regard most failures are 
due, and for lack of surety that such contact is made the various 
contrivances for speedy planting, such as the planting bar, are 
widely condemned ; an excavation of the hole and refilling with 
fine surface earth, just as advised in Chapter XI, for planting 
orchard trees, is commended as the safest practice. Much, how- 
ever, depends upon the soil. In loose, free soil such a use of a bar 
or "sheep's-foot" as will be presently described may be satisfac- 
tory, while it would be impracticable on firmer soils, both because 
of the difficulty of insertion and because the packed condition 
caused by the forcing in would not favor root extension, and not 
desirable on shallow soils because the contact of the better surface 
soil with the bottom of the cutting will stimulate the growth of the 
cutting, and is, therefore, very desirable. 

The post-hole auger and a device for taking out soil as a "trier" 
takes out a sample of cheese or butter, have also been used to some 
extent in making holes for cuttings. 



304 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



There are several forms of dibbles for planting vine cuttings in 
a light deeply-worked soil. In the engraving, "a" consists of a piece 
of round one-half-inch iron, 18 inches long, furnished with a wooden 
handle at one end and a curved double point with a V-shaped cleft 
in the other. The bottom node of the cutting is caught in the cleft 
and forced down to the desired depth. Unless the ground is very 
light the other dibble, "b," is preferable. It consists of a sword- 



\J 



(g 



S 



a 



r" 



Dibbles for planting vine cuttings. 



shaped piece of iron 18 to 20 inches long and 2 inches wide, furnished 
also with a handle. The usual way of using it is to press it into the 
ground to the desired depth, open the hole a little with a lateral 
thrust, withdraw it and insert the cutting. The dibble is then pushed 
into the ground again at about an inch to one side and by another 
lateral thrust the earth is pressed tightly around the graft. This 
takes more time than is necessary with the other form of dibble. 



PLANTING ROOTED VINES 3Q5 

and unless done carefully there is danger of failing to make the soil 
close around the base of the stock, which is thus left surrounded 
by an air space. Grafts left in this way are apt to become moldy 
and fail to make good roots. The figure "c" is a planting dibble to 
be used with hand and foot like a spade. All such contrivances are 
only suited to light soils which crumble and settle easily. On 
heavier soils, digging holes and placing the soil around the roots 
or the base of the cutting by hand is indispensable. 

For planting in dry situations some careful planters run water 
and fine earth into the hole made by the bar after inserting the 
cutting; others run in fine sand dry and then pour on water. In 
using water in this way one must take care that he uses sand or 
sandy earth, and not clay, for a succeeding dry spell may bake it, 
and the cutting will be worse ofif than if not puddled. 

Planting Rooted Vines. — Planting rooted vines is governed by 
the some rules commended for planting trees in Chapter XI, so far 
as preparation of holes, care in placing and firming the soil around 
the roots, etc., is concerned. In handling rooted vines there must 
be greater care in packing and transportation to prevent the roots 
from drying, and in carrying to the field it is generally advised that 
the plants be kept in a pail or other receptacle with water. The 
vine roots are very small and tender, and success will largely de- 
pend upon good care of them. At planting all dead or injured 
roots should be trimmed away, healthy roots shortened so that 
they can be placed well in the hole, and the top reduced to a single 
cane cut back to two eyes. 

Cultivation of Vineyard. — General suggestions concerning the 
cultivation of the vineyard have already been given in Chapter 
XIII, in which methods employed in California, and which are 
practically the same for all fruits, are described. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

PRUNING AND CARE OF THE VINE* 

Most of the varieties of vinifera grown in California at present 
thrive under the short pruning system. There are exceptions, how- 
ever, which will be noted later. The prevalence of the short prun- 
ing system frees our growers from the expense and inconvenience 
of trellises. Though in the early years of the vine stakes are used, 
our older short-pruned vines stand by themselves and are as inde- 
pendent of support as our fruit trees. 

THE FIRST YEAR 

During the summer of the year the vines are planted, no pruning 
or training of any kind is needed in most cases. For this reason it is 
nearly always unnecessary to stake the vines when they are planted. 
The only exception to this is when strong-rooted vines are planted 
in a rich, moist soil in which they will make a very large growth 
the first year. In this case it may be desirable to stake the vines 
immediately after planting and to adopt the method of summer 
treatment usually employed for the second year. 

In most cases, however, it is best to allow all shoots to grow at 
will to insure a good root growth the first year. 

Staking. — In the autumn or winter following planting, the vines 
should be staked, either before or after pruning, but in any case 
some time before the buds start in the spring. 

The kind of stake used will depend on the variety of vine and 
on the method of pruning to be ultimately adopted. For ordinary 
short-pruning, the stake should be of such length that, after being 
driven into the ground, sufficient will be below the surface to keep 
it fitm and prevent its being loosened by the force of the wind 
acting on the vine which is tied to it, and sufficient above the 
surface to extend one or two inches above the height at which it is 
intended to head the vines. It should be from one and one-quarter 
to one and one-half inches square, according to length. 

In firm ground, for small-growing vines, a stake 1% by 1^ 
inches and 27 inches long will be sufficient. This will allow 15 
inches to be driven into the ground and leave 12 inches above, which 
is enougfh for vines to be headed at 10 inches. If the ground is 
loose or sandy a 30-inch stake driven 18 inches into the ground will 
be needed. For strong-growing varieties, such as Tokay, especially 
when planted in rich soil, a stake 1^^ by 1^ inches and 36 inches 
long will be necessary, and 15 or 18 inches of this should be left 
above the ground. This will permit the heading of the vines at 15 
inches. 



*D€tailed discussions of principles of vine pruning and of California methods are now 
available in a reprint of Prof. Bioletti's writings in Bulletins 241 and 246 and Circular 191, 
which can be had by application to the University Experiment Station at Berkeley. 



PRUNING GRAPE VINES 



307 



If the vines are to be trellised with one wire, a 36-inch stake 
driven 18 inches into the ground is the proper length. If two wires 
are to be used, a 48-inch stake will be needed, leaving 30 inches 
above the surface. 

If the vines are to be pruned long and the canes tied to the 
stake, a 5-foot stake will usually be needed, and this must be 
stronger, 2 by 2 inches square. This stake should be driven 2 feet 
into the ground. 

These dimensions are all smaller than are usual in California, 
but are quite sufficient for all practical purposes. The stake should 
be placed 1 or 2 inches from the vine on the side opposite to the 





Fig. 1. Treatment of an average vine during second season. 

a. AVinter pruning. 

b. Spring pruning — removal of suckers (S) and thinning of shoots (W). 

c. Summer treatment — tying to stake and topping. 



prevailing heavy winds. The force of the wind will thus keep the 
vine pressed against the stake and the tying material is less liable 
to break. 

First Winter Pruning. — In California, the young vines may be 
pruned at any time after the leaves have fallen, except in sections 
very subject to spring frosts, where it is sometimes advisable to 
defer the pruning until after the top buds of the canes start. 

The way the vines are to be pruned will depend altogether on 
the growth they have made. If the growth has been small the tops 
are pruned exactly like rooted vines before planting. All the canes 
are removed entirely, except the strongest, and this is cut back to 
two buds (see Fig. 1, a). 



308 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Any vines which have made a strong growth and possess at least 
one cane of which sufficient length is well ripened, may be pruned 
for tying up. All the canes are removed entirely, except the strong- 
est, and this is cut back to 10, 15, or 18 inches, according to the 
height at which it is intended to head the vine. The top cut is made 
through a bud, just as in making cuttings. This will facilitate tying 
up and in-sure the healthy growth of the next bud below as the top 
bud. 

Sometimes, even when the vine has made sufficient growth, the 
canes are prostrate or crooked and none can be tied up straight to 
the stake. In this case the vine must be pruned like a weak vine — 
that is, thinned to one cane and this cane cut back to two buds. 




Fig. 2. Treatment of an average vine during the third season or 
of a vigorous vine during the second. 

a. Vine pruned to one cane and tied to stake. 

b. Removal of sucker (S) and lower shoots (W) in spring. 

c. Vine in summer at time of pinching. 



In no case should two canes of any length be left, and in all cases 
where it is impossible to obtain the full length of well-ripened wood 
for tying up, the cane should be cut back to two buds. It is very 
bad practice to leave some of the canes of intermediate length, as 
this causes the vines to head out at various lengths and produces 
an irregularity of shape which can never be remedied and which 
interferes with regular pruning, cultivation and other vineyard 
work. 

The idea to be kept in mind is to cut back each winter nearly to 
the ground — that is, to two buds — until a cane is produced with a 
length of well-ripened wood and good buds equal to the height at 



PRUNING TWO-YEAR-OLD VINES 309 

which the vine is to be headed. It is very important that this cane 
should be straight, healthy and well-ripened, as it is from it that the 
trunks of the mature vine develops. AH the vines on which a cane 
has been left should be carefully tied up. Two ties will be needed 
in most cases. A half hitch should be made around the cane below 
the swelling left by the bud which has been removed, and the cane 
tied firmly to the top of the stake. Another tie is made half-way 
down the stake. The lower tie need not be very tight, and in any 
case the tying material should not be passed completely around the 
cane, except above the top bud, or the vine will be strangled when 
it commences to grow (see Fig. 2, a). Any kind of string or twine, 
sufficiently strong to withstand the pressure of the growing vine in 
a heavy wind, may be used. Binding twine, or a single strand of 
good baling rope, is suitable. No. 16 or 17 galvanized wire is pre- 
ferred by some and is better than string, if care is taken to remove 
the bottom ties the following year before they strangle the vine. 
Wire is a little more expensive and takes a little longer to put on 
than string, but holds the vines better and can be used for several 
years. 

SECOND YEAR 

Summer Pruning. — The treatment during the second and third 
spring and summer is of great importance to the future welfare of 
the vine. A little judicious care at this period will avert many 
troubles in later years. It will be necessary to go over the vine- 
yard four or five times to do the suckering, topping, and tying which 
are necessary. 

The shoots starting from the vines which have been cut back to 
two buds should be thinned to a single one. This thinning should 
be done as soon as possible in such a way that it is never necessary 
to remove a shoot more than 3 or 4 inches long (see Fig. l,b). If 
the thinning is deferred until the shoots are a foot or more long the 
vine will be weakened by the removal of so much foliage. If the 
thinning can not be done early, it is better not to do it at all. The 
object of this thinning is to throw all the force and growth of the 
vine into the cane which is to form finally the trunk of the vine. 
If it is done too late not only does the growth not go into this cane, 
but the vine is weakened so much that this cane does not grow so 
well as it would have done without thinning. 

The first thinning can be done with the first hoeing, and the 
second with the suckering. The suckering consists of the removal 
of all shoots which come from below the ground. These also should 
be removed as early as practicable, both to avoid weakening the 
vine by the removal of mature leaves and also because a young 
sucker is much more easily separated from the vine at this time. 
Every sucker must be cut or broken oflf at the point where it origi- 
nates. If a little piece of the sucker be left, several new suckers 
will start at the same place. The more completely the suckering is 
done during the first two years, the less trouble in this respect there 
will be in later years. This is particularly true of grafted vines. 



310 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

A few weeks after the first thinning, the single shoot which has 
been left will have grown 10 or 15 inches. At this length it should 
be tied up to the stake (see Fig. 1. c). If this tying is neglected or 
deferred too long, a heavy wind is very liable to break off the whole 
shoot. A piece of string tied rather loosely about the middle of the 
shoot is all that is needed. If the vines are to be headed high (18 
inches) another tie near the top of the stake may be necessary. 

For vines which are making only moderate growth this is all the 
treatment needed during the summer. Strong-growing vines in rich 
soil, however, should be topped. 

Topping. — The object of this is to force the shoot to send out 
laterals at the right height above the surface of the soil, to be used 
as spurs during the following year. This topping is an operation 
which requires a good deal of judgment. If the topping is done too 
soon, laterals will not start, but a new terminal shoot will be formed. 
This is not a serious defect, however, but simply necessitates a 
second topping two or three weeks later. Neither will the laterals 
start if the topping is done too late, or if they start they will not 
mature, and the vine is weakened by the removal of foliage without 
any compensating advantage. 

Until experience has shown the proper time for the variety and 
locality, it is best to top when the shoot has grown to from 8 to 12 
inches above the top of the stake, and if necessary top again later. 

The shoot should be topped within 1 or 2 inches of the top of the 
stake, if the stakes have been chosen and driven as advised above 
(see Fig. l,c). This will insure the growth of laterals just where 
they are needed for the next winter pruning. 

The vines on which a cane has been left and tied up during the 
preceding winter must be treated a little differently. The removal 
of underground shoots or suckers is the same. Instead of thinning 
out the shoots to a single one, as for the vines just described, all the 
shoots should be left to grow, except those too near the ground 
(see Fig. 2, b). 

As a rule, all shoots between the ground and the middle of the 
stakes should be taken off. It is even more important that this 
should be done early than in the case described above. If the lower 
shoots are allowed to become large and then removed, not only is the 
vine weakened by the removal of the mature leaves, but the stem of 
the vine is suddenly exposed to the direct rays of the hot sun and 
is very liable to injury. This injury does not show by the peeling 
off of the bark as with fruit trees, but by a general weakening and 
dwarfing of the vine. 

The shoots coming from the upper half of the cane are to form 
the spurs for the following winter pruning, and can often be left to 
grow without further treatment. 

If the growth is very rapid and succulent, however, it is neces- 
sary to pinch them, or the first heavy wind may break them off (see 
Fig. 2,c). 

Pinching consists in the removal of 1 or 2 inches of growth at 
the extreme tip of the shoot. This delays the growth in length 



PRUNING THREE-YEAR-OLD VINES 311 

temporarily and gives the shoot time to strengthen its tissues before 
its length gives too much leverage to the wind. This pinching 
usually has to be repeated at least once. 

Pinching may be replaced by topping a few weeks later, but the 
latter is somewhat weakening to the vine. 

In all summer pruning — that is, the removal of green shoots and 
leaves — of young vines, two things should be kept in mind : First 
that all summer pruning is weakening; second that the object of 
summer pruning of young vines is to direct the growth as much as 
possible into those parts which are to become permanent portions of 
the mature vine. The weakening effect is negligible if the shoots or 
tips are removed when they are very small, but may be very serious 
if large shoots are removed or heavily topped. When a large shoot 
covered with leaves is removed it is a total loss to the vine. When 
a small shoot is removed the food materials which would have gone 
into that shoot are diverted to the shoots that remain, and the vigor 
and size of the latter are increased. 

THIRD YEAR 

Winter Pruning. — After the leaves have fallen at the end of the 
third summer every vine should have a well-formed, straight stem 
with two, three, or more canes growing from the upper part, and 
the formation of the "head" or crown should commence. Any vines 
which have not been brought to this condition must be pruned like 
two or one-year-old vines, as the case may be. 

If the work up to this point has been well done, the formation of 
the head is a simple matter. It consists in leaving two, three, or 
four spurs, arranged as symmetrically as possible near the top of 
the vine. The stronger the vine, as evidenced by the number, length, 
and thickness of the canes, the larger the number of spurs and buds 
that should be left. 

A spur consists of the basal portion of a cane, and normally of 
two full internodes. This leaves two buds besides the base bud. 
The number of buds to leave on a spur depends on the strength or 
thickness of the cane from which the spur is made. A thin, or weak, 
cane should be cut back to one bud or even to the base bud. A 
strong cane, on the other hand, should be left with three buds 
besides the base bud. 

The pruning of each vine requires judgment, and it is impossible 
to give an inflexible rule to follow. The ideal of a perfect vine 
should be kept in mind and each vine pruned as nearly in accord- 
ance with this ideal as circumstances permit. Fig. 3 represents 
nearly perfect three-year-old vines consisting of two or three sym- 
metrically placed spurs of two buds each near the top of the stem. 

Sometimes it is necessary to leave a spur lower down (see Fig. 3, 
b). This spur will be removed the following year after it has pro- 
duced two or three bunches of grapes. Sometimes a vine may be 
very vigorous but have only two canes properly placed for making 
spurs. In this case the spurs should be left longer — three buds and 
even in extreme cases four buds long. 



312 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



In stump pruning there is a difference of practice as to low head- 
ing according to locality. In the interior regions the vine is now 
headed almost at the surface of the ground ; in the coast regions 
there is usually a stump of one or two feet or more. As with trees 
so with vines, the practice is to prune to make lower heads than 
during the early years of California fruit growing. 

Long Pruning. — Some varieties grown for market and for raisin 
making do not thrive if pruned by the short-spur system. Notable 
among these are the Sultana, Sultanina, (Thompson's Seedless), 
Emperor and Zabalskanski. Whatever the variety of vine and what- 
ever the system of pruning to be ultimately adopted, the treatment 




Fig. 3. Three-year-old vines after pruning. 

a. Average vine with two spurs. 

b. Vigorous vines with three spurs, the lowest of which is to be removed the fol- 
lowing year. 

c. Vigorous vine with three spurs. 

for the first two and even three years is practically identical and is 
that which has already been described in detail. 

Long pruning admits of degrees, but it usually signifies using a 
five or six instead of a four-foot stake and leaving the selected canes 
from eighteen inches to three feet longer instead of cutting back 
to two or three buds, as in short pruning. These long canes are 
securely tied to the long stakes. 

With varieties needing long pruning the first two or three buds 
next the old wood do not bear fruit, hence the need of leaving buds 
farther removed from the old wood to secure it. This habit of the 
vine invites the practice of growing a long cane for fruit and at the 



TRAINING GRAPE VINES 313 

same time providing for wood growth for the following year's 
fruiting by cutting another cane from the same spur down to two 
or three buds. By this practice the wood which has borne the fruit 
is cut back to a bud each winter and the cane which has grown only 
wood is pruned long for the fruit of the following summer. A 
modification of the practice is to prune the canes from some of the 
spurs long, and from other spurs short, thus making the spurs 
alternate from wood bearing to fruit bearing from year to year. 
Unless some method is adopted to promote the growth of strong 
canes from near the head of the vine, long pruning becomes unsatis- 
factory. According to the common way with those vines which 
are known to require longer canes for satisfactory bearing, such 
canes are selected when the vine is well established and two, three, 
four, or more canes four or five feet long are tied up vertically to 
a high stake. This process is repeated the next year and the next, 
and the result is, with the Sultanina at least, that after the second 
or third year all the bearing wood is at the top of the stake, and 
the vine must be pruned short again or suckers and watersprouts 
left as long canes. Neither way is satisfactory. 

Two methods have been successfully used to insure the growth 
of new fruit wood every year in a position where it can be utilized. 
The first consists in bending the fruit canes into a circle. This 
diminishes the tendency of the sap of the vine to go to the end of 
the fruit canes. The consequence is that more shoots start in the 
lower parts of the fruit canes. All the shoots on these canes are 
made weaker and more fruitful by the bending, and at the same 
time the sap pressure is increased and causes strong shoots to start 
from the wood-spurs left near the bases of the fruit canes. These 
shoots are used for fruit canes at the following winter pruning, and 
new wood spurs are then left for the next year. 

The tying and bending of the fruit canes require great care, and 
repeated suckering and removal of watersprouts are necessary to 
insure a strong growth of replacing canes on the wood spurs. This 
method can be used successfully only by skillful hands. 

The other method requires some form of trellis. The most prac- 
ticable trellis is a wire stretched along the rows about Ij/^ or 2 feet 
above the surface of the soil. For very vigorous vines in rich soil a 
second wire 12 inches above the first is advisable. 

The pruning is the same as for the method just described. The 
fruit canes, however, instead of being bent in a circle and tied to 
the stake, are placed in a horizontal position and tied to the wire. 
The horizontal position has the same effect as curving in promoting 
the starting of more shoots on the fruit canes and the consequent 
production of more bunches of grapes. At the same time the buds 
on the wood spurs are forced to start, and not being shaded they 
tend to grow vigorously. It is best to tie the shoots from the wood 
spurs in a vertical position to the stake, and they should not be 
topped. This system of pruning is not only theoretically correct, 
but is easy to explain to pruners, and can be carried out much more 
perfectly than the first method with ordinary labor. 



314 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Whatever system of winter pruning is adopted with Sultanina, 
careful summer pruning, suckering, sprouting, and topping are 
necessary for the best results. This variety has a tendency to send 
out large numbers of suckers from below ground and watersprouts 
from the old wood. These shoots are usually sterile, grow vigor- 
ously, and unless removed in time divert the energies of the vine 
from the fruit and fruit shoots. Two or three times during the 
spring the vineyard should be gone over carefully and all sterile 
shoots which are not needed to balance the vine or to replace weak 
or missing arms should be removed. This removal of shoots should 
be done in such a way that no shoot longer than 12 inches is ever 
removed. If the watersprouts are allowed to grow large their 
removal weakens the vine. The shoots which are to give fruit canes 
for the following year should not be topped. The shoots from the 
horizontal fruit canes on the trellises, however, will set their fruit 
better and are less likely to be broken by the wind if they are 
pinched or topped early. 



SUMMER PRUNING AND SUCKERING 

Summer pruning or topping of bearing vines is usually prac- 
ticed. Some follow the pinching process, by which the terminal of 
the growing cane is nipped off with the thumb and finger when it 
has grown out about two feet. Others wait longer and then slash 
off the ends of the canes with a sickle. The tendency is to leave 
summer pruning until too late and to slash off wood indiscrim- 
inately, to the injury of the vine. Summer pruning, if done early 
enough, and this would be while the growth is still soft at the point 
of removal, will induce the growth of laterals and will shade and 
improve the fruit, and at the same time thicken the growth of the 
main cane and strengthen its connection with the spur. Slashing 
of canes too late in the season deprives the fruit of the service of 
enough leaf surface for the elaboration of the sap, often seriously 
checks the growth of the vine, and in hot regions, induces sunburn. 
The first summer pruning should be done soon after the bloom, but 
not during blooming. The second could take place whenever the 
canes or laterals extend beyond the length necessary to shade the 
grapes. 

Suckering is an important process and usually has to be attended 
to at least twice in the season. It consists in removing all shoots 
from old wood which are not provided for at the previous winter 
pruning. The growth of these suckers takes sap which should go 
to the other canes. All such shoots should be rubbed or pulled off 
while they are still soft; if a sucker puts out at a point where it 
would be desirable to have a spur to balance the head of the vine, 
it should of course be allowed to grow, to be cut back to two buds 
the following winter. By such selection of suckers new spurs are 
secured to replace old and failing ones. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR VINE PRUNING 315 

GENERAL NOTES ON PRUNING 

Longer or shorter pruning produces effects not only upon the 
amount of early ripening of the fruit of certain varieties, but upon 
quality, as shown in the wines. Such effects have to be discerned 
by local observation. 

It is a very difficult matter to lay down any rule for pruning a 
vineyard, so much depends on the age of the vines, the different 
varieties, and the quality of the soil. A basis on which to build a 
theory on the subject might be found in and through an under- 
standing of the quantity of grapes that may be expected from a 
vine, as the secret of pruning is to keep a just medium between the 
production of grapes to the injury of the vine and its wood and an 
overproduction of wood to the detriment of the crop. In older 
vines a proportion should be maintained between the vigor of the 
vines and the crop desired ; each bud may be considered good for 
two bunches of grapes the ordinary size, and upon this estimate 
may be obtained. It must be borne in mind that the result of over- 
loading the vine is detrimental to its vigor and health, while the 
reverse will not injure it, but will lessen the profits for that season, 
often giving greatly increased returns in after years. 

Close attention should be given to the growth of the wood and 
fruit of the preceding year. If the canes are very large and the 
bunches of grapes poor and there are many suckers, it indicates 
that more eyes are necessary. On the contrary, if the canes are 
small, and the bunches of grapes numerous and straggling, and the 
ripening not even, it indicates that the number of eyes left should 
be less. 

Pruning may be regulated to produce a good second crop of 
grapes or to prevent the formation of a second crop. The second 
crop is sometimes profitable in raisin and table varieties, but is as 
a rule undesirable. 

Attention should be paid to the tools used in pruning. Let the 
blades be kept sharp and thin ; large shears are very apt to bruise 
the wood more than small ones. 

Pruning is done after the fall of the leaves and before the swell- 
ing of the buds, usually in January and February. Early pruning 
has a tendency to make the vines start growth early, consequently 
in frosty situations pruning is often deferred till late in the winter — 
as late as the middle of March in some cases. But it is inconvenient 
to do a large amount of pruning so late. At any time in the winter 
the canes can be cut back to 15 or 18 inches and the vineyard 
cleaned up. When the outer buds on these long spurs start, cut 
back to the two buds next the old wood and they will start 15 or 20 
days later than if the vines had been pruned short earlier in the 
season. This practice has been followed with marked advantage in 
some regions liable to late spring frosts. The bleeding which follows 
late pruning is no loss to the vine, according to observation of late- 
pruned vines. 

The proper treatment of vines injured by spring frosts is clearly 
the immediate removal, by a sharp downward jerk, of the frosted 



316 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

shoots. Careful experiment has proved that the vines that were 
not stripped did not do as well as the others, as the dormant buds 
in many cases did not come out, and those that came out were not 
healthy and strong, and hardly had any grapes. The damaged 
shoots that were not removed died gradually, and at the junction 
with the cane new shoots came out without any grapes at all, while 
two-thirds of a crop came on the frost-bitten vines, which were 
stripped of the damaged canes ; hardly any first crop and only a 
second crop on the vines which were not attended to. 



DISEASES OF THE VINE 

One of the most prevalent diseases of the vine in California is 
caused by a fungus which affects leaves, canes, and berries, and is 
locally known as "mildew." This disease is recognized by grayish 
white coloring of the affected leaves, which, as the disease pro- 
gresses, shrivel and dry up ; the young cane also blackens and dries, 
and the berries show whitish patches, which become darker colored 
and the berries crack open. The usual remedy for the trouble is 
finely-ground or sublimed sulphur applied several times during the 
season. Definite reference may be found in the chapter on diseases 
of trees and vines. 

The Bordeaux Mixture and other copper preparations are some- 
times useful upon grape-vines, as will be cited in the chapter on 
plant diseases. 

Coulure. — A frequent misfortune of the vine, and for which no 
remedy is yet known, is coulure, a term signifying the failure of 
the fruit to set or to remain on the cluster. This occurs in varying 
degrees from the loss of a few berries to the almost complete clear- 
ing of fruit from the stem. It is worse with some varieties than 
others and in some localities than others. The trouble is believed 
to arise from various causes. 

There is, also, occurring with more or less frequency, a redden- 
ing and death of the vine leaves, supposed to be identical with the 
trouble known to the French as "rougeole." The leaves show 
light-colored spots at first, which afterward turn red and finally 
involve the whole leaf or cane, and sometimes the whole vine. It 
usually occurs in mid-summer, and is not necessarily fatal in its 
effects. 

Root Knot. — An evil occurring on the main stem of the vine, 
generally near the surface of the ground, is an excrescence of woody 
character commonly called "black knot." There has been much 
discussion as to the cause of this abnormal growth, without full 
agreement among observers. Some attribute the knots to injuries 
to the stump in cultivation, others to outbursts of sap which the 
short pruning system does not give top growth enough to dispose of, 
and to various other causes, but the agency is now definitely 
known to be invasion by bacteria. This is analogous to the "crown 



VINE DISEASE STILL MYSTERIOUS 



317 



knot" of fruit trees which will be mentioned in the chapter on plant 
diseases. 

Anaheim Disease. — There has prevailed for several years in 
California a mysterious disease of the vine known as the "Anaheim 
disease," because its evil work first appeared in that vicinity. It 
destroyed many thousand acres of vines and led to the abandon- 
ment of grape growing- in some regions in Southern California for 
many years. Fortunately during recent years the trouble has been 
less aggressive, but neither its nature nor satisfactory treatment has 
been fully demonstrated. 

The latest available information concerning insect injury and 
other troubles of the vine can be had by application to the Univer- 
sity Experiment Station at Berkeley. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

GRAPE VARIETIES IN CALIFORNIA 

Large collections of grape varieties have been brought into Cali- 
fornia ever since American occupation began. Desirable kinds were 
sought in all grape countries, and from such wide experimental 
planting a few have survived in popular esteem and are now chiefly 
grown. Being derived from different countries, they came bearing 
many names. Some of these have been preserved, some wholly lost, 
and replaced with local appellations. The result is that our grape 
nomenclature is full of confusion. Some varieties have been identi- 
fied by the means of the standard French grape literature ; others are 
apparently unknown to the compilers of that literature. It is, there- 
fore, impossible to-day to determine the original names and sources 
of a number of our most popular grapes. 

In Chapter XVI the varieties most largely planted for commer- 
cial purposes are enumerated. Choice of varieties for planting is 
largely determined by the ripening season of the variety and the 
commercial opportunity which the particular region affords — there- 
fore one should direct investments largely on the basis of local 
inquiries and observations. 

The following list has been compiled as including the varieties 
chiefly grown for the purposes indicated in 1921 : 

For standard raisins — Muscat of Alexandria. 

For seedless raisins — Sultanina (Thompson), Seedless Sultana. 

For table grapes — Flame Tokay, Emperor, Malaga, Cornichon, Sul- 
tanina (Thompson), Muscat. Verdal, Black Prince, Black Morocco. 

For bulk red wine — Zinfandel, Alicante, Bouschet, Carignane, Mataro, 
Blaue Elbe, Mission, Grenache, Mourastel, Aramon, Petit Bouschet. 

For bulk white wine — Berger, Palomino, Feher Szagos, Cabernet 
Sauvignon, Barbera, Valdepenes, Barbera, Green Hungarian, Folle Blanche, 
West's White Prolific, Gutedel. 

For fine red wine — Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Barbera Valde- 
penes, Beclan. 

For fine white wine — Semillon, Colombar, Reissling, Traminer. 

Although there are really very few varieties which are commer- 
cially important, there are many to be found in the different parts of 
the State and the following descriptions will help the reader to 
recognize a number of these. 

Early Black July; syn. Madeleine, Madeleine Noir, etc. — "Leaves rather 
small, light green above and beneath; bunches small and compact; berries 
small, quite round; skin thick, black, covered with a blue bloom; flavor 
moderately sweet, but not rich nor perfumed. The earliest grape, and 
chiefly valued for dessert on that account." — Hyatt. 

White July; syn. Luglienga. — "Vine strong-growing and sensitive to 
frost; leaves of medium size, deeply five-lobed, dark green, glabrous on 
both sides; sharply toothed, the terminal tooth of each lobe very long and 
acuminate; bunches of medium size, well filled; berries of medium size, 
oval, at first green, becoming yellow with overripeness, with thin skin, 



GRAPE VARIETIES IN CALIFORNIA 319 

crisp, firm flesh, and agreeable flavor." — Bioletti. The Luglienga, which 
means July grape, is one of the earliest grapes known. 

Elarly Madeleine; syn. Madeleine Angevine. — "Moderate grower, with 
long-jointed, brown wood; leaf medium, deeply lobed, dark green above, 
tomentose below; young points reddish, woolly, slender; bunch medium, 
compact, shouldered; berry medium, oblong, yellowish green, transparent, 
rather thick skin, sweet and juicy. Vine a shy bearer when frost is preva- 
lent." — Husmann. 

Chasselas Dore; syn. Fontainebleau, Sweetwater. — "A rather vigorous 
grower, with medium or somewhat slender canes of a reddish-brown color; 
young shoots of garnet color; leaves rather below average size; bunches of 
medium or over-medium size, conico-cylindrical shouldered, more or less 
compact; berries medium to large, with firm but tender skin, small seeds; 
of delicate flavor and texture, at first crisp but becoming soft with full 
maturity. The grapes are of a clear green color, tinged with a beautiful 
golden bronze where exposed to the sun." — Bioletti. 

Chasselas Rose. — Fruit resembling foregoing, except that both bunch 
and berries are usually smaller, and flavor is more pronounced. 

Palomino; syn. Golden Chasselas. — "Vine a fair grower; wood close- 
jointed; leaf medium, oblong, deeply lobed, bright green above, grayish 
grain and tomentose below, stem short, young points with reddish tint 
and woolly; bunch large, conical, rather loose and shouldered; berry round, 
full medium, sometimes fiat, pale green with yellowish tinge; thin skin, 
juicy and sweet, resembling Chasselas." — Husmann. 

Black Malvoise. — "Vine a strong grower; wood long-jointed, rather slen- 
der, light brown; leaf medium size, oval, rather evenly and deeply f^ve- 
lobed; basal sinus moderately open, with parallel sides, upper surface 
srnooth, almost glabrous, lower surface lightly tomentose on the veins and 
veinlets, bunches large, rather loose, branching; berries large, oblong, red- 
dish black with faint bloom; flesh juicy, flavor neutral." — Hilgard. An 
early table grape. 

Mission. — "This variety, grown at the old missions, has never been 
determined, nor its exact source ascertained. It is regarded by some as a 
most delicious table grape. It can be found in small areas in every county 
of the State adapted to the grape. Vine a strong grower; wood short- 
jointed, dull dark to brown to grayish; leaf above medium size, slightly 
oblong, with large, deeply-cut, compound teeth basal, sinus widely opened, 
primary sinuses, shallow and narrow, secondary sinuses ill-defined, smooth 
on both sides, light green below with light, scattered tomentum." — Hilgard. 
"Bunches slightly shouldered, loose, divided into many small, distinct lateral 
clusters; berries medium size, round, purple black, heavy bloom; exceed- 
ingly sweet, juicy and delicious; seeds rather large; skin thin." — Hyatt. 

Muscatel; syn. White Frontignan. — "Vine of medium size, with strong, 
spreading canes; canes reddish-brown, with short internodes; leaves of 
rnedium size, thin, five-lobed; glabrous except for a few hairs on the lower 
side of the well-marked ribs; bunches long, cylindrical, regular, compact; 
berries round, golden-yellow, becoming amber-colored, very sweet and of 
marked aroma. Ripens a little later than the Chasselas." — Bioletti. 

Dattier de Beyrouth (Rosaki), — Introduced from Europe. Bunches large, 
only slightly shouldered; berries loose, never compact. Berries very large; 
quite oval in form, of a beautiful golden amber and covered with a whitish 
bloom; very fleshy; juicy and sweet, with little or no acidity. Its keeping 
qualities are unsurpassed. Makes a very fine raisin. — Roeding. 

White Muscat of Alexandria. — "Vine a short, rather straggling and 
bushy grower, well adapted to short stool pruning, as it forms rather a 
bush than a vine; wood gray, with dark spots, short-jointed; leaf round, 
five-lobed, bright green above, lighter green below; young shoots a bright 
green. The laterals produce a second and even a third crop; bunch long 
and loose, shouldered; berry oblong, a light yellow when fully matured, 
transparent, covered with white bloom, fleshy, with thick skin, very sweet 
and decidedly musky." — Husmann. The leading raisin grape of California. 



320 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Muscatel Gordo Blanco. — "Muscatel Gordo Blanco has a closer bunch 
and rounder berry than the Muscat. The skin is softer and the pulp is not 
quite so hard. The berry inclines to be a little darker in color and not 
nearly so green when it is ripe, and I think not quite as long as the Mus- 
cat of Alexandria. If the Muscat would set as well as the Muscatel, the 
difficulty would be obviated. One very important difference is that when 
you come to dry them, the Muscat of Alexandria loses the bloom very 
rapidly. The bloom comes off when you come to dry and pack them. But 
the Muscatel does not lose its bloom. The Muscat of Alexandria has to 
be dried a little more than the Muscatel to bring it into a keeping condition 
under the same condition of ripeness." — R. B. Blowers. 

Huasco Muscat. — A variety brought from Chile, but after wide trial in 
California, seems not superior to the other White Muscat varieties previ- 
ously mentioned. Its dense cluster is not well adapted to raisin making. 
It is said, however, to be less subject to coulure. 

Feher Szagos. — "Vine a strong grower and heavy bearer; branches erect 
but slender; leaves glossy, entire; bunches medium to small, pointed, and 
solid; berries greenish amber, medium oval, pointed, with thin skin and 
few small seeds; flesh not firm, but dries well and makes a good raisin." — 
Dr. Eisen. 

Large Bloom; syn. Uva Larga. — A variety of Muscat said to be named 
because of the length of its berries, but held by some growers to be indis- 
tinguishable from Muscatel Gordo Blanco. An excellent raisin grape, but 
now chiefly grown as a table fruit in the Santa Cruz Mountains. 

White Malaga. — "Vine a strong grower; wood reddish brown, short- 
jointed; leaf medium, leathery smooth, deeply lobed, light shining green 
above; bunch very large, loose shouldered, long; stem long and flexible; 
berry very large, oval, yellowish green, covered with white bloom; thick 
skin, fleshy." — Husmann. Grown in Southern California in situations where 
the Muscat does not do well; also elsewhere as a table grape, and to some 
extent in San Joaquin Valley for raisins. 

Sultana; syn. Seedless Sultana. — "Vine vigorous, upright; leaves large, 
five-lobed, with rather large sinuses, light colored, and coarsely toothed; 
bunches large, long-cylindrical, with heavy shoulders or wings, well filled 
when not cultured, but not compacted; berries small, round, firm and crisp, 
golden yellow, and without seeds." — Bioletti. In California the variety is 
apt to have some seeds. It has more acid, and therefore greater piquancy 
of flavor, than Thompson's Seedless, but the latter has recently far out- 
stripped it in popularity among growers. 

Thompson's Seedless; syn. Sultanina. — Named by Sutter County Horti- 
cultural Society, after W. Thompson, Sr., of Yuba City, who procured the 
cutting in 1878, from Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester, New York. It was 
by them described as "a grape from Constantinople, named Lady Decover- 
ly." When it fruited in Sutter county, it was seen to be superior to the 
Sultana, and has been propagated largely. It was first widely distributed 
by J, P. Onstott, of Yuba City, and others, and is now to be found in all 
parts of the State. The variety is described by Dr. Eisen as follows: 
"Oval; greenish-yellow; as large as a Sultana; seedless, with a thin skin; 
good, but not strong flavor, and without that acid which characterizes the 
Sultana grape and raisins; bunches large or very large; vine an enormous 
bearer." Mr. Bioletti considers the variety identical with the Sultanina of 
Asia Minor, and gives this description: "Vine very vigorous and with 
large trunk and very long canes; leaves glabrous on both sides, dark yel- 
low-green above and light below, generally three-lobed, with shallow 
sinuses, teeth short and obtuse, bunch large conico-cylindrical, well filled, 
on herbaceous peduncles; berries under medium; ellipsoidal, crisp, of neu- 
tral flavor, with moderately thick skin of a fine golden-yellow color." 

Black Wanukka. — A black seedless grape somewhat larger than the Sul- 
tanina (Thompson). It is very promising, both as a shipping and as a 
raisin grape; an excellent table grape, carrying well and not shattering as 
much as Thompson; about two weeks earlier, an advantage both in ship- 
ping and drjang. 



GRAPE VARIETIES IN CALIFORNIA 



321 



Black Corinth; syn. Zante Currant. — Vine of great vigor; the grape 
from which Zante or Greek currants are made; bunches medium size, com- 
pact, and cylindrical, with well marked shoulders, and sometimes winged. 
The berries are very small, reddish black, round and seedless. Occasionally 
a berry containing seeds is found. — Bioletti. 

White Corinth. — Vine nearly as vigorous as the Black Corinth, the 
leaves are a little lighter in color, and the fruit is white; bunches medium 
or a little larger than those of the black and more conical in shape; berries 
a little larger, intermediate in size between the Black Corinth and the 
Sultana; lack flavor and acidity of the black; must be marketed as a sec- 
ond-grade currant or Sultana. — Bioletti. 

Flame Tokay; syn. Flame-colored Tokay, Flaming Tokay. — "Vine a 
strong grower, large in all its proportions, wood, joints, leaves; wood dark 
brown, straight with long joints; leaves dark green, with brownish tinge; 
lightly lobed; bunch very large, sometimes weighing eight to nine pounds, 
moderately compact, shouldered; berry very large, oblong, red, covered 
with fine lilac bloom; fleshy and crackling, firm; ripens late." — Husmann. 
The leading shipping grape of the State, quality low. Defective in color in 
some localities. 

Black Hamburg. — "Bunches very large, from six to ten inches in length, 
very broad at the shoulders, tapering to a point gradually; berries very 
large, round, slightly inclined to oval; skin rather thick, deep purple, very 
black at maturity; very sugary, juicy and rich." — Hyatt. A very popular 
local market grape. 

Rose of Peru; syn. Black Prince (?). — "Vine a strong grower, with dark 
brown, short-jointed wood; leaf deep green above, lighter green and tomen- 
tose below; bunch very large, shouldered, rather loose; berry round, large, 
black, with firm and crackling flesh; ripens rather late; a very handsome 
and productive variety, of good quality, but not adapted for long ship- 
ment." — Husmann. 

Moscatello Fino; syn. Moscatello Nero, Black Muscat. — "Leaves of me- 
dium size, with deep upper and shallow lower sinuses, glabrous above, 
slightly downy below, and very hairy on the veins, teeth long and sharp; 
bunches large to very large, long, loose, conico-cylindrical, and winged; 
berries very large, on long, thin pedicels; skin well colored, thin but 
tough, flesh soft and juicy with delicate muscat aroma. An excellent table 
grape. It is a heavy bearer, and produces very fine-looking bunches of 
dark colored grapes. Rather late." — Bioletti. 

Purple Damascus; syn. Black Damascus. — "Vine a medium grower; 
wood light brown stripe with darker brown, short-pointed; leaf round, 
five-lobed, smooth, light green above, tomentose beneath; stem reddish, 
large, long and woody; bunch large, loose, shouldered; berry very large, 
oblong, dark blue, covered with lighter bloom, meaty, skin thick, ripens 
late." — Husmann. 

Purple Cornichon; syn. Black Comichon. — "Vine a heavy grower, with 
thick, light brown, short-jointed wood; leaves large, longer than wide, 
deeply five-lobed, dark green above, and lighter and very hairy below, 
coarsely toothed, and with short, thick petiole; bunches very large, loose, 
on long peduncles; berries large, long, more or less curved, darkly col- 
ored and spotted, thick-skinned, and on long pedicles. Desirable on ac- 
count of its attractive appearance, curious shape, excellent shipping qual- 
ities, and late ripening." — Bioletti. 

White Comichon. — Resembles Purple Cornichon in shape and flavor, 
but has very thin and tender skin, which makes it better for the table, 
but poorer for shipping. Leaves not deeply cut; smooth on both sides. 

Emperor. — "Vine a strong, vigorous grower; leaves very large with 
five shallow lobes, short, obtuse teeth glabrous above, woolly beneath, light 
green in color; bunches very large, long conical, loose with large, dull 
purple, oval, firm berries." — Bioletti. An excellent shipping grape, first 
largely grown by R. B. Blowers of Woodland, Yolo county, by whom its 



322 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

merits were first announced. Seems best adapted to interior situations and 
is chiefly grown for shipping in the San Joaquin Valley. 

Black Ferrara. — A large black grape; large bunches; berries cling well 
to the stem, thick-skinned, flavor superior. An excellent local market va- 
riety and long-distance shipper. 

Lady Finger (Pizutella di Roma). — "Bunches are usually large and long; 
berries are long, white and thin-skinned. Flesh tender, crisp and sweet. 
Vine a rapid and strong grower, bearing very large foilage." — Roeding. 

Gros Colman; syn. Dodrelabi. — "Vine strong-growing, with dark brown- 
ish wood; leaves very large, round, thick, very slightly lobed, shortly and 
bluntly toothed, glabrous above, close-woolly below; bunches large, short 
well filled, but not compact; berries very large, round, darg blue, with 
thick but tender skin. Remarkable as having the largest berries of any 
round berry variety known, and is probably the handsomest black table 
grape grown. The grapes have good keeping qualities, except that they are 
liable to crack." — Bioletti. 

Black Morocco. — "Vine a strong grower, with thin, spreading canes, 
leaves under medium size, very deeply five-lobed, even when very young, 
the younger leaves truncate at base, giving them a semi-circular outline, 
with long, sharp teeth alternating with very small ones, glabrous on both 
sides, bunches very large, short, shouldered, and compact; berries very 
large, round, often angular from compression, fleshy, of neutral flavor, dull 
purple color or colorless in the center of the bunch. Remarkable for the 
number of second crop bunches which it produces on the laterals. Late 
in ripening and of very fine appearance; a fairly good shipping grape, but 
difficult to pack on account of the size and rigidity of the bunches. The 
grapes are of an agreeable crispness, but lacking in flavor." — Bioletti. Vine 
quite subject to root knot. 

Verdal; Aspiran Blanc. — "Vine of medium vigor and rather hardy; canes 
somewhat slender and half erect; leaves of average size, glabrous on both 
surfaces, except below near the axis of the main nerves, sinuses well 
marked and generally closed, giving the leaf the appearance of having five 
holes; teeth long, unequal, and somewhat acuminate; bunches large to very 
large, irregular long-conical, without any or with small shoulders, well- 
filled to compact; berries yellowish green, large to very large, crisp, with 
thick but tender skin, agreeable, but without marked flavor." — Bioletti. 
Grown as a late table grape; in good condition in some regions as late 
as November. 

Almeria; syn. Ohanez. — "Vine vigorous; leaves of medium size, round 
and slightly or not at all lobed, quite glabrous on both sides, teeth obtuse 
and alternately large and small; bunches large, loose or comnact, irregular 
conical; berries from small to large, cylindrical, flattened on the ends, very 
hard and tasteless." — Bioletti. The grape cultivated at the University Ex- 
periment Stations under this name is one of the several varieties which are 
shipped in such large quantities from Malaga and Almeria packed in cork 
dust. The grapes ripen late and attain about 20 per cent sugar. They have 
remarkable keeping qualities. Vine needs long pruning, and is only 
adapted to hot, interior situations. 

There are many other vinifera varieties which are grown to a 
limited extent either for raisins or for table use. Among these are 
the Canon Hall Muscat, the White Tokay, White Champion, Cin- 
saut, Zabalskanski, etc. 

EASTERN GRAPES 

Though many of the improved varieties of the grape species 
indigenous east of the Rocky Mountains, and of the hybrids between 
these species and the vinifera, have been introduced in California, 



AMERICAN GRAPES IN CALIFORNIA 323 

their growth for table fruit is almost of insignificant proportions, 
and has not constituted even a respectable fraction of one per cent 
of our grape area, though possibly destined to become more 
important in the new uses for grapes which are unfolding. A variety 
of local origin is worthy of mention as follows : 

Isabella Regia. — "A remarkable, giant-leaved, and very prolific sport of 
the Isabella, originated by bud variation with Mr. J. P. Pierce, of Santa 
Clara. The berries, like the leaves, are of extraordinary size, and when 
ripe the fruit is exceedingly sweet and strongly aromatic. It is, therefore, 
acceptable as a showy, perfumed table grape, much liked by some, but 
readily surfeiting those who are accustomed to the vinifera grapes. The 
berries are too soft for shipment to any distance, but all things considered, 
keep fairly." — Hilgard. Grown as the "California Concord" in the Los 
Angeles region. 

This variety leads its class in this State. Other varieties of 
Eastern grapes most popular in California, with the few who grow 
them, are as follows : Catawba, Concord, Moore's Early, Campbell's 
Early, Delaware, Niagara, Worden, Diamond, Isabella. 



PART FIVE: SEMI-TROPICAL FRUITS* 



CHAPTER XXIX 
THE AVOCADO 



The avocado, or aguacate of the Mexicans (Persea gratissima), 
unwisely called "alligator pear" (for the fruit is neither one nor the 
other), has been during the last few years almost a "sensation" 
in California fruit planting. Its deliciousness as a salad material 
and the prices which have been paid for the Florida and the 
imported fruit, have joined to inspire great expectations for a 
California product. The extent of the American demand, the 
phases of competition with the fruit from elsewhere, and the pomo- 
logical characters of varieties to meet California conditions are all, 
however, still largely to be determined and they make the problem 
of investment in avocado growing very interesting. The abundant 
confidence which is now being manifested promises to soon make 
the situation clear. The enthusiasts who are leading in the planting 
are in this way undertaking a public service. They have organized 
the "California Avocado Association," and are publishing reports of 
their proceedings from their headquarters in Los Angeles. 

In a few years fruit planters generally will be able to discern 
whether they should restrict investment in the avocado to supplies 
for home use and local sale or whether its production should be 
pushed toward great commercial objectives such as California has 
attained with other fruits of a semi-tropical character. 



*The dimensions of California's interest in this group of fruits are given for the year 
1919 in the U. S. Census of 1920 as follows: 

No. bearing 

Fruit No. Farms trees Product Value 

Oranges 18,540 10,297,593 21,628,444 bx. $67,048,178 

Lemons 10,125 2,884,770 6,551,657 " 18.999,810 

Grapefruit 4,249 231,136 465,085 " 930,170 

Limes 13 120 136 " 477 

Tangerines 78 2,475 6,658 " 23,306 

Citrons 4 1,594 2,002 " 8,008 

Figs 16,561 503,973 21,801,899 lb. 2,180,194 

Olives 4,059 910,890 17,564,020 " 1,405,121 

Avocados 224 11,916 7,919 crt. 63,353 

Guavas 71 3,654 32,852 lb. 1,653 

Loquats 296 3,296 4,328 bx. 17,312 

Persimmons 270 13,847 21,452 bu. 85,808 

Pomegranates 212 24,258 953,588 lb. 57.215 

Dates 122 17,399 144,992 " 28,998 

Totals 14,906,731 $90,849,592 

If the guava figures are accurate they must indicate that the demand for the fruit is so 
small that very little of it is gathered and the plants are chiefly ornamental. 



THE AVOCADO IN CALIFORNIA 325 

Aside from the excellent reports of the California Avocado 
Association, the literature of the fruit in its California aspects is 
considerable.* 

The current eager and pervading interest in the avocado in 
California is rather an awakening than a discovery because the 
adaptation of the tree to natural conditions has been amply demon- 
strated by early introduction and trials. The first tree was grown 
from a seed planted by Mr. Silas Bond in Santa Barbara in 1870, and 
this tree was described in 1886 as about 20 feet in height, thrifty and 
prolific, and having borne fruit for several years. Nearly as soon, 
probably, avocados were planted for the distinctive beauty of the 
tree in the home gardens of the citrus pioneers of the wide area 
which was then Los Angeles County, and even as street trees in 
front of the homes of the pioneer villagers. During the last twenty- 
five years such scattered plantings have extended far more widely, 
accompanying the modern extension of citrus interest along the 
mesas on the east side of the San Joaquin and the Sacramento 
valleys — the oldest bearing tree north of Tehachapi known to the 
writer being about 30 feet high in 1919 in a garden in Visalia. Along 
the coast fruit production is noted as far north as Santa Cruz. The 
geographical extension of the avocado may be expected to approx- 
imate that of the orange — providing varieties of the thin-skinned 
Mexican ancestry are selected for trial. The thick-skinned Guate- 
malan ancestry is much more tender, and may fail of thrifty growth 
through lack of winter warmth even if actual touch of frost is 
escaped. 

Propagation of Avocados. — Seeds should be planted with pointed 
ends upward and hardly projecting above the surface. Sandy loam 
or the usual green house mixture of sand and fibrous loam should 
be chosen and the seeds can be started in small boxes or cans or 
flower pots in house-window or in hot bed, if the grower wishes but 
a few trees for trial. On a larger scale seedlings may be grown in 
the open by setting the seeds as described and mulching lightly with 
sand or fine litter to prevent the surface from crusting or drying out. 
In the latter case the seedlings should be taken from the seed-bed to 
the nursery row when a few inches high. In growing in small 
receptacles, the plants should be set out before the roots become 
curled or cramped. 

Transplanting of avocados should generally be undertaken as 
the soil becomes warmed in the spring, as will be commended for all 
semi-tropical evergreens. 

Unless the amateur is very adventurous to see what he will get 
from his seed or is a professional who thirsts for honors as a plant- 
breeder, the seedling will be budded. Budding is with the "shield 



•The Avocado, by G. N. Collins. Bulletin 17, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. 
of Agr., 1907. Consult also Yearbooks of the U. S. Dept. of Agr. for 1905 and 1906. The 
Avocado in Southern California and the Development of the Avocado Industry by F. W. 
Popenoe, Altadena, Los Angeles County. New varieties of the Avocado for California, by 
K. A. Ryerson, University of California Journal of Agriculture, November, 1913. "The 
Avocado in California," by I. J. Condit, Bulletin 254, California Experiment Station, Ber- 
keley, May, 1915. "History of the Avocado and its Varieties in California," by I. J. Con- 
dit, Monthly Bulletin of State Commission of Horticulture, January, 1917. "Manual of 
Tropical and Subtropical Fruits," by Wilson Popenoe, Macmillan Co., N. Y., 1920. 



326 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

bud" described in detail in Chapter IX, and the handling is that of 
citrus budding as sketched in Chapter XXXIII. 

Usually one year's growth is allowed on the bud before trans- 
planting, and during this year the bud growth may be trimmed up 
and prepared for desirable branching of the future tree. In trans- 
planting the trees should be balled and handled as described for 
orange trees. Planting in permanent place should give the trees not 
less than 25 feet distances, as they will ultimately grow quite large. 
The culture, irrigation, fertilizing, etc., which befit citrus trees under 
the same natural conditions will satisfy the avocado. 

The tree apparently requires little pruning except in the way of 
checking too rangy growth, which will not only promote strength 
and symmetry, but will protect both tree and fruit from sunburn and 
wind injuries. 

Grafting the Avocado. — Trees of large size may be worked over 
by budding or by top-grafting. The bark-graft as described in 
Chapter IX and specified in the chapters relating to the fig and the 
walnut, secures very satisfactory results. 

Varieties of the Avocado. — There are literally hundreds of varie- 
ties receiving attention of California growers, and no one can tell 
what selections will ultimately prevail. The beginner can not 
pursue a safer course than to plant the varieties approved by the 
California Avocado Association in 1920 (and unchanged in 1921), as 

follows : Weight 

of Fruit Color of 

Varieties — Season from in oz. Mature Fruits 

Fuerte .Dec. to Apr. 11-16 Green 

Spinks Mar. to Oct. 16-20 Purplish Black 

Dickinson May to Sept. 14-20 Dark Purple 

Sharpless Sept. to Jan. 16-20 Dark Purple 

Pucbla Nov. to Jan. 6-14 Dark Purple 

In the table the names are placed, not according to merit, but in the order 
in which the fruit begins to ripen, following the calendar year and using 
Los Angeles as a center. 

The Fuerte is one of the hardier and one of the most vigorous growing 
trees, an early and productive bearer, with fruit of the highest quality ripen- 
ing at a very desirable period, with a greater variation in size and shape of 
fruit than is usual on the same tree, and with some coming too small. 

The Spinks is also a strong growing tree. The large fruit is noted for 
its handsome appearance and has a long ripening period, lasting from early 
in the year until October. 

An outstanding feature of the Dickinson is its notably rough, warty 
skin, which becomes a glossy, handsome purple and identifies the variety. 
The quality is good and it comes in a period of its own — the summer. 

The Sharpless is well known for its handsome large fruit, comparatively 
small seed, high quality and very desirable ripening period of fall and early 
winter. It requires about a year and a half from blossom to maturity. 

The Puebla tree is one of the best types of the avocado — sturdy, hardy, 
compact, precocious and productive. The glossy, handsome, pear shaped 
purple fruit matures at a good season, but is smaller and with thinner skin 
than the others on the recommended list. The period required from the 
blossom to the maturity of the fruit is the shortest of any kind on the list, 
requiring about eight months, and the seed is of medium size. 

Budded trees of these varieties can be purchased at the nurseries 
and the amateur will gratify his interest much sooner by planting 
them in preference to budding his own seedlings. 



CHAPTER XXX 



THE DATE* 



Ever since the arid, semi-tropical regions of the United States 
became known through the narratives of explorers, the date palm 
(Phoenix dactylifera) has been projected as a plant likely to demon- 
strate commercial value in America like that which it has held for 
centuries in the arid regions of Asia and Africa. This idea was 
also cherished even at an earlier date by the Spanish missionaries 
who brought the palm to California, as will be described presently. 
During the last two decades the problem of introducing and estab- 
lishing a date-growing industry has been taken up more seriously 
and systematically than ever before and has attained success. 

The date palm was brought to California by the padres, and the 
oldest date trees in the State are the survivors of their early plant- 
ings. Such trees are found at the San Diego Mission. They are 
conjectured to be more than a century old, and they have survived 
drought and neglect. They made no record of fruit-bearing. There 
were also unfruitful date palms at other missions. 

The ill success of these old trees in fruit bearing long prevented 
attention to the date as a profitable growth. Still there were date 
palms grown from seed of the commercial date planted here and 
there for ornament or out of curiosity, and in due course of time 
the fruit appeared. The first public exhibition of California dates 
known to the writer was made at the Mechanic's Institute Fair, in 
San Francisco, in September, 1877. The fruit was grown on the 
south bank of Putah Creek, the northern boundary of Solano 
County, the situation being slightly above the level of the plain of 
the Sacramento Valley, which lies east of it. The plants were 
grown by the late J. R. Wolfskill, from seed of commercial dates 
purchased in San Francisco, and planted in 1858 or 1859. The seed 
germinated readily, and the young plants were set out in a row 
about 100 feet south of Putah Creek, on a rich, fine, sandy loam 
lying about 25 feet above the bed of the creek. The plants received 
good cultivation, but no irrigation. «■ 

Another bearing date palm stands about a mile eastward of the 
situation just described, near the residence of the late J. R. Wolf- 
skill. It was grown from seed of the date of commerce, which was 
planted in 1863, and the tree bore its first fruit in 1880. Near it 

*The Date Palm and its Utilization in the Southwestern States, by Walter T. Swingle, 
Bulletin 53, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, 1904. 

Date Varieties and Date Culture in Tunis, by T. H. Kearney, Bulletin 92, Ibid, 1906. 

Date growing in Southern California, by S. C. Masin. Report of Riverside Fruit Grow- 
ers' Convention, State Horticultural jCommissioner, Sacramento, 1908. 

Date Growing in the Old and New Worlds, by Paul B. Popenoe, Altadena, California, 
1913. A fine, illustrated treatise. 

Propagation and Culture of the Date Palm, by Bruce Drummond, Coachella, California; 
Farmers' Bulletin No. 1016, U. S. Dept. of Agr.. Washington, D. C, January, 1919. 

Manual of Tropical and Semitropical Fruits, by Wilson Popenoe, Macmillan Co., New 
York, 1920. 



22g CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Stands a taller date palm, which bears staminate bloom. This latter 
tree was originally one of the row previously described, and was 
successfully moved to its present situation after attaining consider- 
able size. 

The fruit of the two bearing palms differs notably in appearance. 
That of the first mentioned tree is of bright yellow color and angular 
outline ; that of the second tree is wine red, with smooth surface. 

During recent years the date has fruited at many places in Cali- 
fornia and Arizona, and commercial quantities of fruit have been 
profitably produced. There is little doubt that it will succeed in 
any of the interior regions which have a sufficiently high summer 
temperature. 

Soils and Waters for the Date. — Until recently the date palm has 
only been planted on good orchard land, but, according to experi- 
ence in date-growing countries, the tree does not require rich soil, 
but on the contrary will thrive in soil which is not acceptable to 
other fruit trees, and will produce fine fruit when irrigated with 
water too alkaline for man or beast to drink. Even the date has, 
however, limitations in its tolerance of saline soils and waters. 



PROPAGATION OF THE DATE 

The date palm grows readily from the seeds of the dried date 
of commerce, and, as has been intimated, most of the trees now 
fruiting in this State having been obtained in this way. By the use 
of seed one gets, however, only seedlings, and the chance of thus 
securing a really fine variety is probably not greater than with 
other fruit tree seedlings. In date-growing countries the best 
varieties are propagated by rooting the oflf-sets, sprouts or suckers 
which appear at the base of the older palms — near the base at first 
and later higher up on the trunks. To secure the best foreign 
varieties such plants must be imported. The first such effort was 
made in the summer of 1890 by the United States Department of 
Agriculture. The plants were divided between New Mexico, 
Arizona and California. The plants for California were planted at 
Tulare and Pomona, some of them being subsequently transplanted 
to the United States Date Garden at Mecca in the Colorado desert 
region 



* 



The United States Department of Agriculture undertook 
arrangements in 1899 for new importations, which were success- 
fully made. Of the foreign varieties thus introduced the following 
have been produced in commercial quantities : Rhars, Tedalla, 
Birket el Haggi and Deglet Noor — the last named leading largely. 

The Deglet Noor was imported from the oases of the Sahara in 
southern Algeria and southern Tunisia. Did not ripen well in Cali- 
fornia and Arizona until in 1910 methods of curing were perfected 
by the experts of the University of Arizona and the Department of 
Agriculture, which will be mentioned presently. Large importa- 

*A full account of this effort and its outcome is given in Bulletin 29, of the Arizona 
Experiment Station at Tucson. 



PROPAGATION OF DATE PALMS 329 

tions of Deglet Noor offshoots were made by the Coachella Valley- 
Date Growers' Association from 1912 to 1914, with the co-operation 
and help of the Department. During the war Algeria forbade export 
of date offshoots. In the spring of 1921 permission was secured 
from the Algerian government to import 1,400 offshoots of the 
Deglet Noor. The Department entered into a contract with a local 
firm of date growers of Indio to root these offshoots, plant them out 
in permanent orchard form and return to the Department one-fifth 
of the offshoots produced on the imported trees, and sell three-fifths 
of the offshoots to bona fide date growers living in regions suitable 
for the culture of the Deglet Noor variety and who do not already 
have 100 trees of this variety, at a price not to exceed $7.50 each for 
the unrooted offshoots. One-fifth of the offshoots are to go to the 
firm as their share, in view of their having borne all the expenses of 
the introduction. This source of supply of Deglet Noor is expected 
to be in continuous operation for many years. 

During recent years large importations of other date varieties for 
commercial planting in Southeastern California have been made by 
Mr. Popenoe, after searching foreign investigations. Some of these 
consisted of varieties of dates which are drier and firmer in flesh 
when mature than the soft dates to which Americans are accustomed 
and which they must be taught to esteem if their production is to be 
profitable in this country. There is, therefore, an issue arising 
between types of dates which it will take time to determine. There 
is also an issue between advocates of imported palms and those 
grown in this country from seeds of selected palms established 
here. These issues between sources and policies of propagation and 
other matters also have given rise to personal controversies between 
those holding diverse views and interests the adjustment of which 
can not be foreseen and the only clear aspect of which in 1921 is that 
the conflict may be as hot as the sun and as bitter as the water which 
the palm itself can thrive upon. 

Growing Palms from Seed. — Seeds taken from the dried dates 
of commerce germinate readily ; in fact, seedlings frequently appear 
in the gutters of unpaved streets where the seeds have been thrown 
during the rainy season. Director Forbes, of the Arizona Station, 
says that seeds will come up more promptly if first stratified. This 
may be done by taking a gasoline can or deep box and placing 
three inches of sand in the bottom after making a number of holes 
in it for drainage. The seeds are placed upon this layer and the 
can or box filled with sand, the whole then being put in a sheltered 
place and kept moist from three to six weeks, when the seeds will 
be soft and ready for prompt growth when planted. The seedlings 
may be started in nursery rows for transplanting after one to three 
years, or if frequent irrigations may be relied on, in the fields where 
the trees are to remain. 

Dr. W. T. Swingle, whose work on date growing has already 
been cited, gives the following suggestions on the growing of seed- 
lings and their subsequent handling to determine sex and to select 
bearing palms of desirable type : 



330 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The seed should be planted rather thickly in well-drained beds of fer- 
tile soil, free frorn alkali. These beds should be watered frequently, as the 
young date seedlings need an abundance of moisture. If properly cared 
for the seedlings will reach a height of from 12 to 18 inches the first year 
and can be transplanted into the permanent orchard the second year. 

These seedlings should be set out in rows about 30 feet apart and placed 
5 or 6 feet apart in the row. Ordinarily field crops can be grown between 
the rows until long after the palms come into bearing. After three or four 
years, when the young palms begin to flower, the surplus male trees can be 
dug up and destroyed, thus thinning about half of the trees. Then when 
the female trees come into fruit, those which yield decidedly inferior fruit 
can also be removed, so that finally about one-fourth of the original num- 
ber of seedlings will be left standing. The spaces between the seedlings 
will be irregular and offshoots can be taken from the best sorts and planted 
where the largest gaps occur. By preventing offshoots from growing on 
the poorer sorts they will yield more fruit and finally can be destroyed 
and replaced by offshoots from some of the better sorts. In this way, by 
degrees, the orchard can be improved without expense for offshoots aside 
from the labor of planting them. 

Rooting Suckers. — Suckers taken off in warm weather and 
watered freely usually take root readily. In the Coachella Valley 
they are usually cut in March, but can be handled successfully all 
the year except December and January. In cooler valleys the 
season would probably run from April to August, as they do not 
root readily during nor approaching cool weather. Care should be 
taken not to let the plants dry. Director Forbes gives these points : 
Suckers should not be taken from the parent tree until they have 
attained a diameter of 5 to 6 inches and a weight of 15 to 20 pounds. 
Suckers should be removed by cutting in and down along the line 
of cleavage between them and the main trunk, with a strong chisel 
or a fiat-pointed bar. If possible the cut should be carried down 
so as to bring away at least one or two sound roots. The leaves 
should be closely pruned and for shipment the cut bases had better 
be protected against drying out by layer of wet moss or similar 
material. In planting, the sucker should be set in previously irri- 
gated and well settled soil to the depth of its greatest diameter, 
taking care that the center of the palm is not below the irrigating 
water level. 

For convenience in irrigating, a shallow basin of earth should be 
made about the sucker, in which, to lessen evaporation and the rise 
of alkali, a mulch of the fine barnyard litter three or four inches deep 
should be spread. The soil about the newly transplanted suckers 
should be kept constantly wet by frequent irrigations. 

Rooting offsets in a hot bed is commended by Mr. Bruce Drum- 
mond. He plunges them in a forcing bed made of one and a half 
feet depth of manure, covered with one foot of earth. The forcing 
house is of canvas and the heat thus increased by the covering 
induces such a rapid and vigorous growth that offshoots cut from 
the parent tree in the spring are ready to plant out in the grove in 
the fall, and will begin bearing dates four years thereafter. 
Mr. Drummond says that offsets about 5 inches in diameter weigh 
10 to 12 pounds, and root more easily than larger ones. He cuts 
away about one-half of each of the leaves of the offset rather than 
prune them all away. 



BEARING AND RIPENING DATES 331 

Bearing Age of the Date. — There is much difference in the ages 
at which seedlings have come in fruit in the hands of different 
growers. Fruit has been reported on seedHngs six years old and 
even on plants four years from the seed. Such early maturity must 
not, however, be generally expected. 

Blooming of the Date. — The date palm is dioecious, and, its 
staminate (male) and pistillate (female) blooms appearing on 
different trees, it requires the association of the two for perfect 
fruiting. Growing plants from seed, as already stated, leaves the 
grower in doubt as to the sex of his plants until they bloom. 
Usually one obtains a large preponderance of male plants. In 
propagating from suckers the new tree is of the same sex as the 
parent. It is advised to have about one male to twenty female trees. 
The pollen can be transported long distances and maintains its 
vitality for a long tinie. 

Artificial fertilization of the bloom of the bearing palm has been 
found of advantage in this State and was probably first practiced 
by J. R. Wolfskin. Though the staminate tree was but a few feet 
away from the pistillate, the male bloom was broken in pieces and 
hung to the leaves of the female tree near to the pistillate flowers. 
It was found that the parts of the date cluster which are nearest to 
the suspended male blooms have more perfect fruit than the more 
distant parts. Other California date growers have had similar 
experience. 

Date palms bloom from March to May, and the fruit ripens from 
August to November. 

Ripening the Date. — Dr. A. E. Vinson reports that the Arizona 
Experiment Station has demonstrated that by pasteurization or 
incubation of the ripe fruit, it is freed of the obnoxious insects that 
naturally infest the date. In pasteurizing, the temperature is raised 
sufficiently to destroy all insect eggs and at the same time to 
improve the keeping quality of the fresh fruit by checking fermenta- 
tion. The date, heated after it has been ripened at natural tempera- 
tures, becomes more palatable than the raw material and does not 
cloy the appetite so quickly. These improvements alone have 
greatly extended the possibilities of marketing the fresh fruit and 
of its becoming a staple among the people of this country. It is 
anticipated by some growers that seedling varieties can be devel- 
oped which will not require artificial ripening, but artificial ripening 
by holding the fruit in a closed apartment at a temperature of 100 to 
110 degrees Fahr. is regularly practiced. The length of exposure to 
heat depends upon the condition of the fruit as it comes from the 
trees, and is a matter of experience and judgment. 

Fumigation with bisulphide vapor to free packed dates from 
insects is also employed both by the California Date Association and 
by private growers. An apparatus for fumigating in vacuo is being 
very successfully used. 

Pruning. — The pruning of bearing palms should consist merely 
in the removal of old leaves, up to the fruit stem of the former 



332 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

crop. Young palms should not be allowed to produce heavy crops 
of fruit, as this would be done at the expense of offshoot growth — 
if that is a consideration. 

Beauty of the Date Palm. — The date palm in fruit is a beautiful 
sight. The glauceous green pinnate leaves arch outward. Between 
two of these emerge the bright orange-yellow polished fruit stalks, 
which divide into a spray of slender bright yellow stems a foot or 
so in length ; and thickly set upon these in clusters are the various 
colored fruits covered with a rich bloom. It is a sight not easily 
forgotten by a lover of nature, and especially by one reared in a 
northern zone, the characteristic vegetation of which is so different. 



CHAPTER XXXI 



THE FIG 



The fig is, perhaps, the grandest fruit tree of California. Its 
majestic size and its symmetry make it a crowning feature of the 
landscape, and its dense foliage renders the wide space embowered 
by it a harbor of refuge from mid-summer heat. Measurements 
of large trees are abundant, for old trees are numerous in the in- 
terior of the State, both in the valley and on the slopes of the Sierra 
foothills. At Knight's Ferry, in Stanislaus County, on the place 
of Mr. T. Roebuck, there is a fig tree sixty feet in height, with 
branches of such length as to shade a circle seventy-seven feet in 
diameter. The trunk is twelve feet two inches around. A little 
higher the trunk divides into seven or eight large branches, each 
of which is nearly five feet in circumference. At thirty feet from 
the ground the limbs are seven and eight inches through. Perhaps 
the largest girth of a fig tree is that of a tree sixty-eight years old 
on the Charles O'Neil place near Oroville which is eighteen feet 
around the trunk, while the oldest tree is probably the one on the 
Curtner place near Warm Springs in southern Alameda County 
which is reported to be 125 years old, with a trunk girth of seven- 
teen feet — a survivor of mission planting. 

Groves of massive black fig trees, which, though set sixty feet 
apart, mingle their branches overhead and form a network through 
which, in the summer, hardly a beam of light can pass, are fre- 
quently seen in the older settled parts of the State. Perhaps the 
most interesting single fig tree is that on Rancho Chico, quite near 
the residence of General Bidwell. It was planted in 1856. One 
foot above the ground the trunk measures eleven feet in circum- 
ference ; the wide-spreading branches have been trained toward the 
ground and, taking root there, banyan-like, they form a wonderful 
enclosure over one hundred and fifty feet in diameter. 

The crop on these large trees is proportionate to their size and, 
entering their area in the morning during the ripening season, one 
can scarcely step without crushing figs, though the fruit may be 
gathered up each day and placed in the sun for drying. All these 
famous old trees are of the black, Mission variety. One such tree 
owned by John Wolfson of Merced is reported to have produced 
"one thousands pounds of dried figs" in 1918, This tree is eleven 
feet around four feet above the ground, with a spread of sixty feet. 

Realization of a Fig Industry. — Although there was the demon- 
stration of California's adaptation to fig growing always before 
them in these grand old trees and although the subject was con- 
tinually under investigation and efifort for half a century, the real 
push for a great fig industry was not made until the war excluded 
the Smyrna figs and during the years following a great push was 
made in fig planting in the San Joaquin Valley to realize the pio- 



334 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

neer's prophecy that the fig would be among the greatest of Cali- 
fornia's cured fruits. In 1921 the first carload lots of fresh figs 
were successfully sold in Atlantic seaboard cities. 

The most significant action toward the realization of a great 
California fig industry was the organization of the growers into a 
marketing association which in 1920 entered into a union with the 
peach growers and formed the "California Peach and Fig Growers," 
with headquarters at Fresno. It is promoting production, preserva- 
tion and profitability of figs in a most enterprising manner. 

REGIONS SUITED FOR THE FIG 

Though there are still many fine points to be determined as to 
what situations and conditions favor the production of the very 
finest figs, and there are indications that there is possibly much 
difference, it may be truly said that a very small part of the State 
is really unsuited to its growth. If one shuns the immediate coast 
of the upper part of the State, where the summer temperature is 
too low for successful ripening, and keeps below the altitude of the 
mountains where winter killing of the tree is possible, he can grow 
figs almost anywhere, providing soils and exposures are favorable, 
for the young wood of the fig tree endures but little frost. 

Selection of varieties adapted to particular situations has much 
to do with the success of the fig, as with other fruits, and, therefore, 
a broad statement of adaptability must be received with such an 
understanding. The intrusion of the coast influences borne east- 
ward by the winds of summer, as described in Chapter I, gives a 
night temperature too low for ripening of some varieties, which 
turn sour upon the trees. Present indications are that the finest 
dried figs, having the thinnest skin and the nearest approach gen- 
erally to the fig of Smyrna, the commercial standard for dried figs, 
will be produced in the drier portions of the interior valleys and 
foothills. Even in Southern California fig-souring is quite preva- 
lent, and selection of locations must be circumspectly made. 

SOILS FOR THE FIG 

The fig will thrive in any soil that one would think of selecting 
for any of our common orchard fruit trees, and, in fact, the fig 
succeeds on a wider range of soils than any one of them. This 
applies merely to the successful growth of the fig; to secure ripen- 
ing at a time when the fruit can be profitably sold for table use, is 
another question. 

The selection of soils especially suitable to the production of the 
best figs for drying involves more considerations than rule in the 
growth of table fruit. For drying, the fig should attain a good 
size, but should not contain excess of moisture. In some parts of 
the State the first crop of figs in the season has been found unfit 
for drying. The second, and, in some localities, the third crop, 
appearing later in the season, when the moisture supply of the soil 
is reduced, dry well. This condition of the first crop is, however, 



PROPAGATION OF FIGS 335 

affected by local conditions, for there are places in the Sierra foot- 
hills where the soil moisture has to be replenished early in the 
season by irrigation to prevent even the first crop from falling 
prematurely, and subsequent irrigation brings to perfection the 
second and third crops. The fig tree needs plenty of moisture in 
the soil, but not too much. As with other fruits, if the soil does not 
retain the needed amount naturally, it must be supplied by irriga- 
tion, wisely administered, because over-irrigation on soils which 
cannot carry away surplus water has produced fruit which has 
soured and is otherwise rendered unprofitable. 

PROPAGATION OF THE FIG 

The fig grows very rapidly from cuttings, and this is the chief 
method of propagation. Cuttings should be made while the tree is 
fully dormant, in the winter, of well-matured wood of the previous 
season's growth, giving preference to the stocky, short-jointed 
shoots. Tip cuttings can be made from the ends of long shoots if 
the wood is well matured, round and smooth, not angular and 
wrinkled. Short lateral shoots ending in a tip-bud are preferable and 
they are usually made ten or twelve inches in length and planted 
with only one bud above ground. If enough tip cuttings are hard 
to get, lower cuts can be used — carefully sealing the tops with as- 
phaltum grafting wax. In cuttings of figs always cut through the 
joint where the wood is hardest. Particular attention must be given 
to prevent fig cuttings from drying out. The life goes out of them 
very easily. 

The planting and care of the cutting is essentially the same as 
of vine cuttings, already described. If well made and cared for, a 
very satisfactory growth is made the first season, and the trees are 
ready for planting out in permanent place the following season. 

Single Bud Cuttings. — If one desires to multiply a new variety 
very rapidly single-eye cuttings will make plants. This is, also, 
analogous to single-eye grape cuttings, as already described. 

Budding the Fig. — The foregoing means enable one to propagate 
a fig so rapidly that recourse is not had to budding, as in propaga- 
ting other trees ; still, budding is feasible, either on small plants or 
on young shoots of old trees which it is desired to bud over. 

The fig m.ay be budded by the common shield method, as used 
for ordinary fruit trees, as described in Chapter IX, but owing to 
the tendency of the fig bark to shrink in drying, the bud should be 
closely bound in with a narrow waxed band, to exclude the air. 
As the bark is thick, it is often desirable to cut out a little of the 
edges closest to the bud when in place. 

Another method of budding the fig is by annular or "ring bud- 
ding," a method also relied upon with the walnut and chestnut. 
Annular budding is done in the fall. A circular ring of bark is 
taken off from the stock by the aid of a budding knife, by running 
two circular cuts around the stock, and a longitudinal one between 
the two circular cuts ; the ring of bark taken off must be at least 
-one inch wide, and from that up to two inches. A like ring of bark 



336 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



is taken off in the same manner from the scion of the variety to 
be budded in, and from a branch of the year, or preceding one, well 
in sap, and having about the same diameter as the stock. The ring 
should have on it one or two buds. It must fit exactly the space 
prepared on the stock, and more particularly at the lower circular 
cut, so that both barks will exactly unite at that point. One must 
be very careful while drawing the knife around the stock not to go 
too deep into the wood to injure the cambium layer, or to weaken 
the stock. Tie a bandage firmly over the whole. After two or 
three weeks the bandage has to be taken off, and, in the ensuing 
spring, the top of the stock or limb is cut down three inches above 
the budding. 

Another way of working such trees is by "whistle budding," 
which is done in the spring, when the sap is well up. The stock 
and the scion must be both of the same size and well in sap. The 
top of the stock is cut down to several inches from the ground ; a 
circular ring of bark is then taken off, and a corresponding ring 
from the scion, but without a longitudinal cut, is put in its place 
and pushed down around it and bandaged. 

To prepare an old tree for budding over, the limbs may be cut 
back in February to within two to six feet of the trunk, covering 
the ends with paint or grafting wax. Allow two shoots to start 
near the end of each of these amputated limbs, and rub off all other 
shoots. Bud the shoots when they attain the thickness of one's 
finger, taking green buds from the growth it is desired to introduce, 
or let them grow and bud in the fall, whichever is most convenient; 
or bud in the growing shoot, and re-bud in the fall where buds have 
failed. 

Budding in Old Bark. — Budding with a large shield into old 
bark is also successful. Judge Rhodes of San Jose describes his 
method, both with the olive and the fig, in this way : 

Cut shield from a limb of about I/2 inch in diameter, length of shield 
about 1^ inches, its thickness from ^ to ^ inch, and its bud near the 
middle of the shield. Do not remove the wood from behind the bud. 
Make a cut in the stock, through the bark and into the wood, its length 
and width a little greater than those of the shield. Insert the shield into 
the cut, so that the inner bark of the top of the shield and cut will coin- 
cide, so that one side of the shield and cut — and both sides, if practicable 
— will coincide. Place the top of the cut over the shield (removing a part 
of the flap so the bud will not be covered), and fasten flap, shield and 
stock together very firmly with twine, and protect them with paper tied 
around them. They may be grafted in that mode, whenever dormant buds 
are found, for the shields. Twenty-four shields were inserted at several 
times during one spring, and there was only one failure. 

Grafting the Fig. — The fig can be grafted by the cleft-graft 
method, as described in Chapter IX, but the cleft should be made 
to one side and not through the central pith. Especial care must 
be taken in excluding the air. Fill the cleft between the scions with 
warm wax, which will run in and fill the cavity. Then bind the 
stock with wax bands, taking the greatest care to cover the exposed 
wood surface, the cut end of the bark, and as far down the stock as 
the bark has been split. 



GRAFTING THE FIG 337 

Another method is to cut a notch into the stub with a sharp 
knife, so as not to cause a split, but rather deep, clean cuts, into 
which the wedge-shaped scions are firmly pushed and a cord wound 
around the stub to hold all strongly in place before waxing 
thoroughly. 

The form of side-graft with a saw cut as described in the chapter 
on the peach is also available. 

In grafting the fig by various methods it is essential to have well 
matured wood for scions — two-year-old wood is usually best ; short 
shoots or spurs well hardened are desirable. 

Grafting in the Bark. — A method of bark grafting applied to 
the fig by George C. Roeding of Fresno and approved by him after 
several years of successful experience, affords an excellent way of 
grafting over large trees. It does away with splitting the stock 
and therefore hastens the barking-over of an amputation. The 
branches to be grafted are cut off within 18 to 24 inches from the 
point of divergence from the main body of the tree, allowing at 
least two branches to remain, one of which should be on the south- 
west, if possible, so that the grafts will be protected from the after- 
noon sun. 

After having sawed off the branches, the stumps neatly smoothed 
over with a sharp knife, so as to leave a clean, smooth surface, 
particularly along the edge, tAvo, four or six scions should be placed 
on each stock, the number, of course, being regulated by the size of 
the stump. Cut out a V-shaped piece of bark. The distance from 
the top of the stock to the point of the V should be about 1% inches. 
Then proceed as follows: 

Select a scion of the proper size, never be smaller than an ordinary- 
lead pencil. As a rule scions from two-year-old wood, with very little 
pith and with a diameter of about J^ inch, will give the best results. The 
scions should have a sloping cut at the lower end, with the bevel all on 
one side and not like a wedge. The bevel should be a little longer than the 
V-shaped opening in the stock and should fit snugly into this opening, so 
that the bark on both edges of the scion touches the bark of the stock. 
After the scions are placed, wrap tightly with five or six-ply cotton twine, 
and cover the wounds as well as the stub with liquid grafting wax. Wax 
the top of the scion to prevent drying out. If waxed cloth is used it must 
be removed before the warm weather sets in or the bark will be smothered 
and will die. After the scions have become well united, which takes from 
two to three months, the strings should be cut. This method of grafting 
can not be made successful until the sap begins to flow, say from the latter 
part of February to the first of April. The scions should never be more 
than four inches long. 

Seedling Figs. — Figs are readily grown from the imported fig 
of commerce. Dr. Gustav Eisen of San Francisco, our leading 
writer on the fig, gives the following explicit directions for growing 
the fig from seed : 

Cut open imported Smyrna figs; wash out the seeds in warm water, 
those that float are empty and worthless; those that sink are generally fer- 
tile. Sow these in shallow boxes of sand and loam mixed, and place in a 
frame under glass. In three weeks they will be up and must be very 
sparingly watered. Set out next season in nursery row. In three years 
from the seed such plants will be found to bear. 



338 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The tendency of the plants grown from Smyrna figs is to revert 
to the wild type, and there is a small chance of securing good 
varieties. 

PLANTING AND PRUNING THE FIG 

The chief point to observe in planting the fig trees is to get them 
far enough apart, because of the great spread of branches which 
they attain. Of course they may be planted twenty feet apart if 
the owner intends to remove alternate rows, but to plant at forty 
feet, or even farther apart, with other fruit trees or vines between, 
on the plan of alternate or double squares, described in Chapter X, 
would be the best way to lay out a fig orchard — the intermediate 
growths to be removed as the figs require more room. 

Very handsome effects are produced by planting the figs along 
avenues to inclose orchards of other fruits. Fig trees are grand 
for shade around buildings, and wild or Capri figs are desirable to 
plant in this way for a purpose which will be mentioned later. 

In transplanting fig trees extra care must be taken to keep the 
roots from drying. After planting, the stem must be diligently 
guarded from sunburn, to which it is liable in the warmer parts of 
the State. 

Pruning the Fig. — The fig requires very little pruning after its 
shape is outlined. There is difference of opinion and practice as 
to the height at which the head should be formed ; some head nearly 
as low as already advised for common orchard trees ; others, having 
in mind the immense thickness attained by the limbs, and their dis- 
position to droop, head as high as four to six feet, which is the better 
way to proceed when the trees are wide-spaced and expected to 
attain large size. This height system is particularly desirable with 
the Mission fig. In planting varieties less disposed to great size it 
is usual to retain four branches above twenty inches of clear trunk, 
but some prefer to start with five branches above thirty' inches of 
trunk. The Kadota fig, chiefly grown for hand-picking for preserv- 
ing, is often headed about at the ground-surface and grown as a 
large bush rather than in tree form. 

In shaping the tree, branches should be brought out at a dis- 
tance apart on the stem, so that there may be room for their ex- 
pansion without crowding each other, and care should be taken not 
to leave too many main limbs. The branches putting out on the 
under side of these limbs should be suppressed, and those growing 
upright, or obliquely upright, retained. As the fig has pithy shoots 
it is very desirable to cover all cuts with paint or wax. After get- 
ting the general shape of the tree fixed, there is little need of pruning 
except to remove defective branches or those which cross and 
interfere with each other and to prevent the interior of the tree 
from becoming too dense. It is better to remove branches entirely 
than to shorten them ; or, in shortening, always cut to a strong 
lateral. Stubs left at pruning are very undesirable in the fig. This 
refers particularly to trees given much distance and allowed free 
growth. 



CAPRIFICATION OF FIGS 339 

In handling fig orchards of the Smyrna and other smaller grow- 
ers, more systematic pruning is followed. The following is the 
practice in the Markarian orchard at Fresno : 

If trees are allowed to grow more than two feet of trunk they are liable 
to become bent and to be sunburned for lack of shade. Trees having the 
best shaded trunks are the most vigorous and frost resisting. Trees that 
are once sunburned are practically ruined; but few recover. Stunted trees 
are very hard to develop into good trees. 

When the trees come into maturity, after the fifth or sixth year, they 
must be pruned back by cutting the top branches off from about ten to 
fourteen inches, so that the tree will throw out more lateral branches, with 
a larger proportion of new lateral fruit wood. 

Ordinarily if this method of pruning fig trees to a bush form is used 
it will only be necessary to prune once every two years. The season to 
prune fig trees depends upon the age of the trees. Young trees should not 
be pruned before the month of March as they are very susceptible to 
frosts. Larger trees can be pruned as early as January 15 and not later 
than March IS. 

Unlike other trees, the bearing fig trees need little pruning. They 
should be topped about every two years. Go over the upper quarter of 
them and cut back the terminal branches, in no case more than twenty 
inches. With most branches a few inches is enough. The shaping of the 
-trees enters into the pruning. The terminals cut back will send out several 
lateral branches of new fruit wood. By keeping up this system of pruning 
larger fruit and larger yields are obtained. 

Cultivation. — Young fig orchards are cultivated as are other 
fruit areas. Irrigation is governed by local conditions, as already 
stated. In starting the orchard it is exceedingly important that 
the young trees should not be allowed to suffer from drying out 
of the soil. 

Bearing Age of the Fig. — The fig often, and, perhaps, usually, 
begins its bearing very early, in the most favorable situations in 
this State. Some fruit is often had the second year, and a crop 
worth handling the third year. Still, it is wiser not to calculate 
defifiitely upon such returns, for four or five years sometimes pass 
without a satisfactory crop. 

CAPRIFICATION* 

Caprification consists in suspending the fruit of the wild or Capri 
fig in the branches of the tree of improved variety, that the pollen 
may be carried by an insect from the former to the latter. The old 
mission fig and the more recently introduced White Adriatic and 
many other varieties matured fruit regularly and freely, but until 
1900 California was never able to produce dried figs like the fig 
of commerce or the Smyrna fig. This was, at first, thought to be 
due to lack of the Smyrna variety. After painstaking effort this 

*In a general treatise like this only a passing reference can be made of this subject, 
which is perhaps the most interesting in the whole realm of science as applied to fruit 
growing. The literature of the subject is very large and cannot be even indicated in this 
connection. The materials and methods of caprification are also numerous. The latest 
available exposition of the whole subject, its literature, science and practice is given in 
"Smyrna Fig Culture." by G. P. Rixford, of San Francisco, which is Bulletin 732 of the 
U. S. Department of Agriculture and can be had by sending 10 cents to the Superintendent 
of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. A detailed account of 
caprification and the methods and agencies employed may be had by application to the Col- 
lege of Agriculture at Berkeley for Bulletin 319, "Caprifigs and Caprification," by I. T. 
Condit, 1920. 



340 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

variety was introduced. Trees grew readily from the cuttings ; 
fruit appeared upon them and dropped before maturity. Doubt 
then arose as to whether importers had not been deceived, and other 
efforts were made, resulting in other importations. These also cast 
to the ground immature figs. Discussion turned then upon the fact 
of caprification — the necessity of having the fruit of the Capri or 
wild fig adjacent to the fruit of the Smyrna fig so that insects from 
the Capri might visit the fruit of the improved variety and pollinate 
its inclosed flowers, which, appearing upon the inner wall of an 
almost closed cavity, could not be reached by ordinary visiting 
insects. The wild trees had already been introduced and were 
freely growing near the others, but this fact availed nothing — the 
figs fell just the same from the Smyrna trees. In 1890 Mr. George 
C. Roeding, of Fresno, essayed to demonstrate the fact that the lack 
of pollination was the secret of failure, and he succeeded in intro- 
ducing the Capri pollen into the eye of the Smyrna fig, and secured 
thereby the retention of such pollinated figs upon the trees, and 
when ripened and dried these had the Smyrna character. The 
demonstration was complete that California could not grow Smyrna 
figs without the pollinating agency found to be essential to success 
in Smyrna. This agent is a minute wasp called the blastophaga — an 
insect so minute that it can make its way through the mesh of ordi- 
nary cheese-cloth and can enter the almost closed eye of the young 
fig — so minute that a magnifying glass is necessary to give one any 
clear idea of its outline. For years constant effort was made by 
various parties to secure the introduction of this insect. Urgent 
appeals were made to the United States Department of Agriculture, 
after private undertakings failed, to secure the insect alive or other- 
wise in form for permanent residence. In April, 1899, the feat was 
accomplished, the blastophagas being received from Algiers as col- 
lected and forwarded by W. T. Swingle to Mr. Roeding. Their 
offspring appeared in large numbers during the summer and fall of 
the same year. On the basis of this achievement the commercial 
production of a true Smyrna fig in California began and has rapidly 
developed. Mr. Roeding gave his product the musical patronomic 
"Calimyrna," which now adheres also to the variety from which it 
is produced. 

To avail himself of the benefits of caprification, every grower 
of varieties which require it must also grow suitable Capri fig trees 
and establish the insect in them by securing wild figs infested with 
the insects and exposing them in the trees. After such introduc- 
tion the insects will maintain themselves — if the proper capri trees 
are able to carry their fruit on the branches during the winter be- 
cause frosts are only light. In these carry-over wild figs the insects 
safely survive the winter. 

FOES OF THE FIG 

The fig is freer from insect pests than any other fruit trees, and 
yet it is a mistake to consider it wholly free — still, practically, the 
fig tree in California has not yet suffered from insects. 



FIGS GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 341 

The gophers have a pronounced appetite for fig roots, and their 
presence should be carefully watched for. Swine have a liking for 
fig bark. Figs make good food for hogs, and plantations have been 
made with this in view, but if the hogs are to be the harvesters, it 
will be well to protect the stems of the trees from them. 

VARIETIES OF THE FIG 

Except in small production of fresh figs for local sale California 
fig planting in 1921 proceeds almost exclusively upon the White 
Adriatic, Calimyrna, Black Mission, and Kadota, and there is no 
agreement among planters as to which will prove most permanently 
profitable — considering cost of production of each. It is hardly 
likely that the present phase of popularity of varieties will be en- 
during. It seems reasonable to believe that to command world 
trade, California must grow the type of cured fig which the world 
is accustomed to as the fig of commerce, which Smyrna production 
established in world esteem. 

The fig has a very confused nomenclature in California. Dr. 
Eisen published a catalogue of varieties introduced into California, 
with descriptions of each in Bulletin 9 of the Division of Pomology 
of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The following enumeration 
is restricted to varieties more or less common : 

White Adriatic. — Size, medium, roundish; neck medium; stalk short; 
ribs obscure; eye open, with red iris; skin very thin, greenish in the shade, 
yellowish in the sun; pulp bright strawberry red or white, with violet 
streaks in the meat; varies in quality according to location. Very produc- 
tive and often very profitable as a dried product. Apt to sour if weather is 
dark or showery during ripening, or if grown on water-logged soils. 

Agen. — Medium size, roundish; skin bright green, cracking longi- 
tudinally when ripe, showing white bands; flesh deep red, very rich; a 
good bearer, but very late, requiring a long hot season. 

Bardajic. — "Very large, obovate, pyriform, long neck and stalk, skin 
very thin, grayish green; pulp rich crimson, fine table fig and largest of 
Smyrna class." — Roeding. 

Black Bulletin Smyrna. — Large, obtuse, pyriform, short neck, long stalk, 
light purple, flesh pink, luscious. 

Bourjassotte, White; syn. Panachee. — Medium, round and somewhat 
flattened, eye large, sunk; skin waxy, green; pulp bright red. A very fine 
fig. Tree very large. 

Brown Turkey. — Large, turbinate, pyriform, with hardly distinct neck; 
stalk short; apex flattened; ribs few; slightly elevated; eye medium, slightly 
open, scales large; skin smooth, greenish to violet-brown in sun, with 
darker ribs; pulp dark rosy red, quality good, and tree a good bearer. 
Brunswick is frequently confounded with this fig. A distinct variety is 
grown in Vacaville as Brown Turkey, which is named by Dr. Eisen "War- 
ren." 

Brunswick. — Very large, pyriform, with swollen cheeks, one of which is 
larger than the other; apex very obtuse; neck and stalk very short; ribs 
distinct; but not much elevated; eye medium, open; skin pale amber, with 
violet tint; pulp amber. An early, large fig, but lacking flavor. Very com- 
mon; requires rich, moist soil. 

Celeste, Blue; syn. Violette. — Small, oviate, turbinate; ribs few, but dis- 
tinct, especially near apex; eye raised, rough; color dark violet amber. 



342 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

without reddish blush; bloom confined to the neck; skin thin; pulp deep 
rose; meat amber, sweet, but lacking in flavor. 

Col. de Signora Bianco. — Medium sized, pyriform; long ribbed neck; 
skin green, changing to yellow; flesh deep red, very rich and luscious, a 
strong grower; late, suited for a warm region. 

Croisic syn. Cordelia. — Notable for ripening fruit near the coast in 
Central California. "Large, glossy green in color, sweet and good quality. 
Three trees planted about 1900 are growing near the bay shore, one of the 
windiest and bleakest spots in San Francisco, and still ripens its first crop 
perfectly, and sometimes the second crop." — G. P. Rixford. 

Douro; syn. Black Portugal. — One of largest figs grown in California, 
black; tree very prolific; ripening in August and September. 

Drap d'Or. — Large, pyriform, with very low neck and stalk; ribs ele- 
vated; apex obtuse and concave; color light violet-reddish amber, not dark; 
pulp rosy red. A fig of very fine quality; especially useful for confections 
and crystallizing; not identical with Brunswick. 

Genoa, White. — Above medium, pyriform; neck small; stalk short, ribs 
indistinct; skin downy; eye very small; skin pale olive-green; pulp pale 
rose. One of the better figs, quite distinct from Marseillaise. 

Gentile. — Similar to San Pedro; large, light colored, amber pulp, sweet 
and luscious. 

Ischia, Black. — Small; neck short; stalk medium; skin smooth; color 
dark violet, black, greenish around the apex; neck dark; eye medium, open; 
bloom thin, dark blue; pulp red. Of fair quality but small size. 

Ischia, White. — Size below medium, round, with small neck; stalk very 
short; eye open; skin smooth, bluish green, with brown flush, pulp rosy 
red. Common in California. 

Kassaba. — "Medium to large, globular, flattened, short neck and stalk, 
pale green, pulp reddish, very sweet, dries well. Tree handsomest of 
Smyrna varieties." — Roeding. 

Kadota; syn. White Endich. — A re-named variety. Medium, golden yel- 
low, pulp white, tinged with pink; tree prolific and long ripening season. 
Esteemed for shipping, also for preserving and canning. 

Ladaro. — Very large, oblong, pale yellow, brown cheek, flesh deep red, 
rich and sugary. 

Lipari. — Small, greenish yellow, soft, and showing purplish spots; widely 
distributed, and popular for home use. 

Marseillaise, White. — Medium ovate, pyriform; neck short; stalk me- 
dium; ribs numerous and distinct; apex flattened; eye large, open; skin 
downy, pale yellowish green, mottled with white; pulp amber, with a few 
large seeds. One of the best figs for drying. Requires sandy, rich soil. 

Mission, Black. — Medium to large, turbinate; neck long; stalk short; 
ribs distinct; eye prominent, open; skin rough, deep mahogany violet, with 
red flush; pulp not fine, red but not bright or brownish amber; sweet, 
but not high flavored; common in the Southern States, California and Mex- 
ico. The oldest fig in this country. Very regular and prolific in bearing, 
and free from souring while sun drying. 

Pacific White. — An unknown variety found growing on a farm in Placer 
county. Medium size, fine grained, very sweet, dries well, but the skin is 
thicker and more tough than the imported fig. That and its small size are 
the only objections to it. It is quite widely distributed in Southern Cali- 
fornia, 

Pastiliere. — Large, 3 inches by 1^; elongated, pyriform, with long neck; 
stalk short, eye closed, surrounded by an elevated iris; skin rough, hairy, 
with blue bloom; pulp red. Fine for preserves. 

Ronde Noire. — Large, round, but irregular; neck distinct, short; eye 
small; skin smooth, waxy, dark violet brown; pulp amber. Greatly to be 
recommended as a table fig. It is not related to Black Ischia or Osborn 
Prolific. 



VARIETIES OF THE FIG 343 

San Pedro, White; syn. Brebas. — Very large, round, flattened on apex; 
stalk and neck short; eye open; skin thick, tender, of a bright yellow color 
or greenish in the shade, without bloom; pulp amber. A remarkable and 
handsome fig. Only the first crop matures without caprification. Suited 
only for table use. Requires moist, rich soil. 

San Pedro, Black. — Very large, elongated ovate, with no stalk, but with 
well-set neck; skin smooth, violet black with green neck, pulp red, coppery, 
tinted violet. For table use. The largest fig known. 

Smyrna (Fig of Commerce, Drying Fig of Smyrna, Calimyrna). — Of 
several attempts to secure the true Smyrna fig, that made by the San Fran- 
cisco Bulletin, and managed by G. P. Rixford, first achieved prominence. 
Fourteen thousand cuttings were obtained in 1882, and distributed through- 
out the State. A later direct importation of fig cuttings from Smyrna was 
made by the Fancher Creek Nursery, of Fresno, as described on a previous 
page. This has established itself as the leading drying fig. Other figs pre- 
viously called Smyrna in this State are misnamed. 

Verdal, Round. — Below medium, round pyriform without stalk or neck; 
skin smooth, waxy, bluish green; eye closed; pulp dark, blood red. A 
small fig, but valuable for canning and preserves; better than the Ischias 
or Celeste. It does well in the Santa Clara Valley, but is inferior in the 
interior of the State. 

Verdal Longue; syn. Sultana. — Medium, oblong, turbinate; stalk and 
neck short; eye closed; yellow, ribs brownish; flesh red; sweet aromatic. 
The latest ripening variety. 

There are many undetermined varieties of the fig grown here 
and there in the State. Some may be finally identified, others may 
be new. Some of them yield an excellent dried or preserved fruit 
and should be more carefully experimented with. 



CHAPTER XXXII 



THE OLIVE 



The olive is another of the old mission fruits, and though the tree 
and its products have been constantly under discussion since the 
American occupation, and though experimentation has been con- 
stant, it was not until 1885 that the tide of popular favor turned 
strongly toward the olive. For twelve years thereafter planting 
proceeded with enthusiasm amounting almost to infatuation, until 
the acreage in olives before 1900 reached such a figure that even 
the most enthusiastic ceased from further planting, because the 
future of the products of the olive was by no means clear. The 
competition of olive oil with cheaper salad oils worked greatly to 
the disadvantage of the higher-priced article, and though pure-food 
legislation declared that cheaper oils can no longer be sold under 
the name of the olive, substitutes, under their own picturesque 
names, have become popular. 

The difficulty of producing pickled ripe olives with good keep- 
ing qualities was proven to be vastly greater than anticipated, and 
canning was finally resorted to. It is probable that during the first 
decade of this century the uprooting of trees far exceeded the 
planting and the olive acreage decreased considerably. At the same 
time there was much progress attained in the building and equip- 
ment of oil mills and pickling establishments, and in mastery of 
processes which yield acceptable products — all of which have favor- 
ably influenced the demand and price of the fresh fruit. The fact 
is, the olive has, for several decades, been boomed in California 
along spectacular and speculative lines, and the industry had to 
outlive the mistakes which were made. 

During the war the price for good pickling olives ranged from 
$140 to $160 per ton, while fancy fruit reached $200 and upwards. 
Such prices were never previously attained and even one-half of 
these values would be profitable, if labor were reasonably available 
and the trees were fairly productive. These are the ruling factors 
in the business, and will maintain the olive industry in spite of set- 
backs like that which was encountered in 1920 through lack of 
adequate sterilization in canning processes and which cast a deep 
shadow upon production and planting. 

The olive tree has survived a temperature of 14 degrees Fahren- 
heit in California, but the fruit is injured by a slight fall below the 
freezing point. This may render unprofitable the late varieties 
which carry their fruit-ripening into the winter months. 

The olive tree will thrive throughout the larger part of Cali- 
fornia, and it has been shown that it will grow in a soil too dry 
even for the grape-vine, and too rocky for any other fruit tree, but 
the growth of the tree and the bearing of fruit will be proportional 



THE OLIVE IN CALIFORNIA 345 

to the amounts of plant food and moisture, and it is idle to expect 
fruit without irrigation if the soil can only furnish water enough for 
the growth of the tree. There must be moisture enough in the soil 
to hold the fruit plump and smooth. Olives shriveled by drouth 
will usually become smooth again after fall rains, but shriveling, 
either by drouth or frost, leaves the fruit out of condition for 
pickling. 

The irrigation of the olive depends upon the conditions which 
determine the desirability of other fruits, as discussed in Chapter 
XV. If the rainfall is scant usually, or occasionally by the failure 
of spring rains, a good irrigation is desirable in April, and usually 
another in midsummer. Most essential, however, is a good irrigation 
in September in the interior where the fruit ripens early and is 
likely to be small and inferior unless the tree is well supplied with 
moisture in the fall. Near the coast where the rainfall is heavier, 
more regular, apt to be earlier in the autumn and where the fruit 
ripens later, irrigation may not be required. 

On foothill slopes the trees bear fruit earlier than in the rich 
valleys, although in the latter the trees attain larger growth. Trees 
in the interior bear sooner than on the coast, and ripen their fruit 
earlier in the season. 

The olive tree is now thriving in California in a great variety of 
soils. It is productive, if frosts are not too severe on most valley 
lands, while on hillsides, even where excavations had to be made 
between boulders, or into disintegrating rock, the tree has exhibited 
thrift and content with the situation. But the conclusion should 
not be drawn that the olive relishes poor soil. It may thrive with 
loose rocks or boulders, but it finds among them the elements it 
needs including an adequate supply of moisture. It is not to be 
inferred that the olive will succeed on sterile soil. 

The olive is chiefly grown with clean summer cultivation. Grow- 
ing the tree in irrigated alfalfa, as discussed in Chapter XIV, is 
objectionable because of the danger of delaying the ripening of the 
fruit and bringing it farther into the rainy season, which is a very 
great disadvantage. 

Although the relations of soils to the qualities of oil have been 
investigated by the University of California Experiment Station 
and some interesting results published, we have not had experience 
enough in this State to demonstrate the influence of soils on the 
quality of the oil, but trade results have shown that good oil has 
been made from fruit grown on some of our best valley fruit soils, 
deep and naturally well drained, as well as from fruit grown upon 
drier uplands, and the production on deeper, richer lands is much 
larger. 

PROPAGATION OF THE OLIVE 

Olives are propagated from seed, and from cuttings of various 
kinds and sizes. The growth from seed is seldom practiced in this 
State, because growth from cuttings is easy, and furnishes the 
variety desired without grafting. 



346 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Growing Olives from Seed. — The olives should not be planted 
with the pulp, but cleaned of this either by letting them rot in a pile 
or by putting them into an alkaline solution to cut the oil. A simple 
way to hasten germination is to break the pits, taking care not to 
hurt the germ. An instrument similar to the nut-cracker has been 
invented in France which is said to work well. When the kernels 
are deprived of their shell, they may be kept moist in a compost, or 
mixture of cow-dung and sandy soil, and sow thickly in the month 
of April. If it is thought to be too much work to take the kernels 
out of the pits, they must be soaked for twenty-four hours in a 
solution of one-half pound of concentrated lye to the gallon of 
water. Most of the seeds sprout the first year. Planting the naked 
kernels gives the quickest result. Without using this artificial 
means some of the seeds may remain dormant at least for two years. 
Clipping the tip of the shell, so as to open a small aperture so that 
moisture can enter readily, will often cause nine-tenths of the seed 
to grow within three months. 

G. P. Hall, of San Diego, gives the following hints for those who 
desire to experiment with seedling olives : 

After the pulp has all been taken off with lye water (in order to remove 
all the oil and to roughen the shell), the seed is washed in clean water and 
then kept in moist sand till planting time, which is in February and March. 
They will not all germinate the first year, so it is best to preserve the seed- 
bed. Some assist the germination by cracking the pits in an iron vise; one 
turn of the screw generally splits the shell. Leave the pit in the cracked 
shell when you plant in the prepared seed-bed. Some use boxes perforated 
to insure drainage; the boxes are filled up to within three inches of the 
top with good sandy loam, then the kernels, cracked or otherwise, are 
spread over the top and in inch or more of sand covers the whole, which 
must be kept constantly moist. The cracking of the kernels greatly ac- 
celerates the germination, and a person can prepare 600 or more seed in 
a day. Take seed from best trees and avoid dwarfs of any kind. Use any 
good kinds of either pickling or oil olives as you may desire. 

Large Cuttings. — There are two chief methods of propagating 
the olive from cuttings now practised in California. One uses well- 
matured wood, and the other young wood which has just passed out 
of the herbaceous state. Practice with hard wood proceeds by 
taking cuttings of sound wood about a foot long and one-half to 
one inch in diameter, and rooting them as already described for 
vine cuttings, in Chapter XXVI. A fresh cut should be made at 
the bottom of the cutting and if the bark has shriveled at all the 
cuttings should be put in water for a time before planting. These 
large cuttings sometimes remain dormant for a year or more, and 
recent propagation has been largely by the small-cutting method. 

Small Cuttings. — Propagating by small cuttings serves an ex- 
cellent purpose in rapid multiplication ; it enables the grower to 
handle a large number of plants in a small space, and the plants 
from small cuttings have a symmetrical root system quite resem- 
bling that from a seed. These cuttings are made from very small 
shoots and both the tips and the lower cuts are used. In the en- 
graving the figure on the left is a tip cutting; the next, a cutting 
lower down the shoot. These figures are about natural size, and 



PROPAGATING THE OLIVE 



347 



show clearly how the cuttings are made. They are placed closely 
in boxes of sand about four inches deep, rooted under glass or in a 
lath house, and after a few months are potted in small pots, or may 
be reset farther apart in boxes of soil or in the open ground. In 
January or February, the wood seems to be in the best condition 
in Berkeley, but such condition may come at other times in other 
parts of the State. From such cuttings the trees will be of good 
size for planting in permanent place the next year. It is very 
important to take the small cuttings just when the wood is in the 
right condition, not too soft nor too hard. How to determine this 
point can not be described ; it must be learned by experience. 




Propagating the Olive by small cuttings. 



Growing Trees from Truncheons. — New varieties secured from 
the south of Europe generally came in the shape of truncheons, 
which are long sticks of hard wood. They may be planted entire, 
or be sawn and split into large cuttings (for olive cuttings, even in 
firewood shape, will grow if properly treated), though better trees 
come from small cuttings. If the truncheons are bedded a few 
inches below the surface in moist, warm soil, shoots will appear 
which can be worked up into small cuttings when they reach the 
proper condition. 

BUDDING THE OLIVE 

Since the planting of a large area of Redding Picholines and the 
fruit found to be that of a wild or poor seedling olive and not a 
superior named variety, there has been a demand for working over 



348 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



the trees into better varieties. Besides, many of the imported 
varieties have proved disappointing and a change to a variety- 
profitable in the region is imperative. The method of budding 
commonly employed with fruit trees does not usually yield a high 
percentage of success with the olive, but shield-budding in the old 
bark, as described in Chapter XXX, gives good results. 

Budding may be performed at any time of the year when the 
sap flows freely. If done late in the summer, the buds lie dormant 
through the winter. Best results are obtained when the buds are 
inserted early in the spring, as the operation can be performed to 
a much better advantage, and the buds will grow to some height 
before winter. When inserted in limbs of large trees, the shoots 
from the inserted buds are allowed to grow until they have attained 
such a size as will justify in the removal of the entire top. 

Twig Budding. — Twig budding is very successful. The bud is 
cut deep into the wood, in order to give the bud as much bark as 





Olive: Twig-Bud as cut 



Olive: Twig-Bud Inserted. 



possible. The leaves are partly cut off ; then, with a sharp point 
of the budding knife, the greater part of the wood inside of the bud 
is removed, as shown in the picture. If part of the wood is not 
removed, then the bud can not take, as the wood in it prevents the 
two barks (the inner bark of the bud and the inner bark of the 
stock) from uniting. When the wood has been partly removed from 
the bud, the bud is inserted into the stock, as budding is done in 
the regular, ordinary way, and tied tight. A small tip-twig may be 
used or a longer twig, cut back to the lowest bud and part of the 
foliage cut away, as shown in the engraving. At the end of three 
or four weeks the string is removed, and part of the top of the stock 
is cut back to force the bud to start. As the bud grows, the foliage 
of the stock is gradually removed, until the bud is able to take up 
the entire flow of sap ; it is then left to grow, and it may be pro- 
tected by tying to a long stub of the branch which may be left for 
that purpose above the point of insertion. When the bud has grown 



BUDDING AND GRAFTING OLIVES 349 

out strongly, what remains of the stock above the bud is cut smooth, 
close to the bud, to allow it to heal over. 

Flap-Budding the Olive. — Although the use of a twig with a 
pushing bud is to be commended strongly a dormant bud can be 
forced into activity quite successfully. Mr. C. A. Wetmore describes 
this method : 

Late in the spring, when advancing warmth has set the sap to moving 
freely, observe a tree of the kind you desire to propagate. Notice parts of 
limbs with vigorous growth and clean bark free from lateral twigs. Where 
a leaf adheres to such limbs or where one has been and fallen off, there 
is a small bud or eye. Such dormant buds or eyes are lifted from the 
wood together with a small piece of the bark about one-third or half an 
inch square. On the properly selected limbs of the trees you wish to bud 
into, make three cuts with a knife, so as to include a space a little longer 
than the piece of bark to be inserted. Two parallel cuts are in line with 
the limb; one is across the top. Lifting the flap of bark thus made care- 
fully with dull side of a blade, the cambium layer of the wood will be ex- 
posed. Slip in the piece of bark with the dormant bud and press it close 
with the flap made on the limb. Tie the flap firmly to cover the whole 
piece inserted with raffia or strips of cloth or soft twine. At the end of 
one week cut the ligatures and suffer the flap to curl up and dry. If the 
insertion has united to the wood, it will remain green and fresh-looking 
about the dormant eye. If this freshness continues after exposure, the bud 
has taken. Then cut with a knife or saw into the limb above the bud to 
induce the sap to force the growth. If any one fails, the limb need not be cut 
into, but may be budded in another place. The following winter, cut off 
the limb above the bud if it has sprouted well, and, as sufficient new wood 
is made, the old branches of the tree may be cut away. 



GRAFTING THE OLIVE 

Grafting is also used in working over both large and small olive 
trees. Good success can sometimes be had with the ordinary method 
of top grafting, as described in Chapter IX, using scions not larger 
than a lead pencil, and inserting them in April. The olive can also 
be successfully grafted in the bark according to the method shown 
in Chapter IX. This graft is used for working in the top of the 
tree, but it may also be used at the surface of the ground, covering 
the cut surfaces with earth when the scions are in place. Judge 
A. L. Rhodes, of San Jose, gives the following explicit account of 
his success with a bark graft, as follows : 

The stock, where cut off, may be from half to two and one-half inches 
in diameter; the scion about one-quarter inch in diameter, the lower end 
to be formed by an oblique cut of about one and one-half inches. Split the 
bark of the top of the stock about one inch, raise the bark at the sides 
of the split slightly, insert the point of the scion between the bark and 
wood of the stock, at the split, and press it down the length of its oblique 
cut. Fasten it by binding twine around both stock and scion, about ten 
times, very firmly. Apply grafting wax to top of stock and scion. 

If the bark of the stock be three or more years old, make two slits in 
it, about one and one-half inches in length, the width between them equal- 
ing the width of the oblique cut of the scion, raise the bark between the 
slits, cut off about half of it, by a sloping cut, then insert the scion and 
press it down, and bind with twine and apply grafting wax, as above 
directed. Cotton wrapping twine is of sufficient strength. 



350 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Stocks the diameter of one inch or more should receive two or more 
scions. Scions gathered a short time before their insertion are the most 
successful. The twine around the stock and scion should not be loosened 
until it indents the bark of the stock. Protect the graft from sun and 
wind. Wrap paper around the stock and scion, the paper to extend a few 
inches above the scion — or place the paper, in the form of a bag, over 
scion and stock — and secure the paper with twine, tied around the stock 
in a slip-knot. 

Bark grafting may be performed at any time when the bark of the 
stock can be readily raised — whenever the bark will "slip." I grafted in 
that mode in each week of April and May and the first of June, and in 
September. Failures not 5 per cent. Twelve scions inserted about the 
last of September are all growing. Shield budding is the most successful in 
the spring. I prefer the bark grafting, as the shield buds may not start for 
months, or even for a year. 

Side Graft on Small Wood. — A satisfactory graft can be made 
with an oblique cut, as shown in Chapter IX, which is superior to a 
split of the stock, because on a small stock the split is apt to con- 
tinue farther than desirable when the scion is pushed in. With the 
slanting cut in the stock the scion can be firmly pushed into place 
without splitting. The union of inner barks of scion and stock must 
be made on one side when the stock is larger than the scion. This 
graft is tied in and waxed, or a waxed band may be used. In work- 
ing small wood at the ground surface, the earth should be drawn 
up around the graft. 

Grafting on Rooted Cuttings. — Good trees are made by grafting 
in the nursery on rooted Picholine cuttings. Such cuttings are 
made from wood, say, one-half inch in diameter, using a young scion 
with a starting bud. Such a scion makes a saleable tree with one 
year's growth. 

PLANTING THE OLIVE 

All suggestions of care in laying off and planting in Chapters X 
and XI should be considered in establishing olive orchards, and the 
precautions against drying out during transportation and trans- 
planting should be carefully heeded because the tree is an evergreen 
and more quickly injured by exposure and evaporation. In planting 
trees from the nursery it is desirable to remove all foliage, white- 
wash against sunburn and save the strength of the stem for a 
new start. 

There is nothing gained by planting out the olive too early in 
the spring. Both cuttings and rooted plants will do better if planted 
after the soil becomes well warmed, and after the heavy rains of 
the winter are well over. Of course the time when this condition 
comes is different from year to year, and varies, also, according to 
locality and situation. During the first summer the young plants 
will need occasional watering in some situations ; in others, merely 
mulching, or keeping the surface finely stirred, will suffice. 

Olive trees are planted at different distances, but the ruling in- 
tervals are twenty to twenty-five feet. This will allow the trees to 
bear a number of years before they crowd each other ; and then 
removing alternate trees gives ample distance for future growth. 



TRANSPLANTING OLIVE TREES 



351 



Some planters hold, however, that original planting should be at 
40-feet intervals. But it is clearly the part of wisdom to hold the 
olive to a low growth in order that the fruit may be cheaply gath- 
ered, and this may be done by the proper pruning. 

Transplanting Old Olive Trees. — California experience shows 
that an old olive tree can be successfully transplanted if both the 
branches and roots are cut to short stubs and little more than the 
trunk reset in moist, warm soil, but usually better results can be 
had by a more careful effort. The method outlined below is appli- 
cable to olives and citrus fruits and, in a general way, to all ever- 
green trees : 

After the heavy rains are over and the ground is getting warm — 
say in February — cut back not less than one-half of the top. Trench 
all around the tree to a depth of two or three feet, according to the 
size of the tree ; the inside edge of the trench about two feet from 
the trunk of the tree. At the same time remove top earth down to 
the roots to reduce the weight. This trenching cuts off all side 
roots and gives room to get in to handle the ball of earth, which 
rope up with barley sacks under the ropes so as to hold the ball 
from breaking. When this is done well, dig in and under the tree 
from the bottom of the trench so as to cut off the bottom roots. 
Carefully pull and pry the ball to see that it will wobble a little in 
the hole to show that all the roots are cut. Then get ropes and 
sacks under the ball, rig up a derrick and block and tackle and lift 
the balled tree out of the hole, land it on a low truck and haul it to 
a hole previously made ready, and lower it into place by the same 
tackle which lifted it. Fill in with fine earth and water-settle it to 
fill all cavities — covering with loose earth several inches to keep 
from drying. Be sure the tree has plenty, but not too much, mois- 
ture during its first summer in its new place. 

Large deciduous trees can be removed when dormant with much 
less labor, but it should be done in the fall — as soon as the soil is 
deeply wet by rains. It should be understood, however, that mov- 
ing large fruit trees, either evergreen or deciduous, is seldom com- 
mercially desirable. 

PRUNING THE OLIVE 

Pruning policies as insisted upon in Chapter XII, have direct 
bearing upon the commercial growth of the olive. The development 
of the tree according to principles there laid down is practicable 
and desirable. After proper low form is secured, satisfactory bear- 
ings will depend upon regular pruning to secure new bearing shoots 
and thinning to prevent the tree from becoming too dense and 
bushy and from running out of reach of a step-ladder, for both 
these acts are essential to the growth of good bearing wood, low 
down. At the same time it must be remembered that too severe 
cutting back forces the growth of branches which form only wood 
buds and fruiting is postponed. 

Trees which have been allowed to form umbrella-like tops may 
be brought down to business again by cutting back the main limbs 



352 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



and making selection from the many new shoots which appear, but 
by proper, regular pruning a tree can be so trained that the removal 
of large limbs is seldom necessary. The times to prune the olive 
are just after the gathering of the fruit or just before new growth 
starts in the spring. 

Developing the Vase Form. — Explicit suggestions as to the de- 
velopment of a low, vase-form tree may be helpful to inexperienced 
growers. The following is from a foreign writer, whose illustra- 
tions are presented herewith : 

When the young tree has attained some height, it is the practice to cut 
off the top, so that the main stem shall be about four and a half feet in 
rich soil, or three feet in poor soil or in locations exposed to strong winds. 
Six or eight branches are left to form the head. The process of shaping the 
tree then proceeds as shown in the engravings. Fig. 1 shows the young 
tree to be cut at the point marked by the dotted line C. Six branches, 
three on each side, are left, and the lower twigs shortened. Each of the 
branches left develops, during the year, as the one shown in Fig. 2, which 
is then cut at C again, and the shoots B and D are shortened. This process 
starts out the upper shoot, and appears the following year as A in Fig. 3, 
and it is again cut at C. This causes the two upper shoots to develop, and 
at the end of the year they appear as shown at BB in Fig. 4. Thus they 
stand at the fourth year's pruning, and each of them is cut at C, and A is 
shortened and D allowed to develop. By this time the tree has a spherical 
or vase form, and exposes much surface to the sun, which is desirable. 

The young branches that spring in the form of a cross on the more 
vigorous branches, bear only wood buds; the others, which are weaker, 
bear fruit buds on their whole length and burst into blossom at the spring 
of the second year. The latter never blossom again in the same place, but 
the shoot extends itself and forms two lateral ones. These new shoots 
bear the following spring, and so on. It must therefore be borne in mind 
that the olive bears only on the two-year-old wood. If the new shoots are 
formed every year, the olive will bear anually; but in years of good crops, 
the sap employed to nourish the fruit only produces a number of very di- 
minutive shoots, and the next crop is a short one. The pruning ought to 
favor the growth of young lateral shoots, either by shortening the terminal 
ones, suppressing the "gormand" or fruitless shoots, or by reducing in a 
certain proportion, each year, the fruit-bearing shoots, if we wish tor a 
crop every year. The shortening of a branch is made immediately above an 
outside bud in an oblique direction, the interior one being suppressed. The 
suckers at the root of the tree should be continually cut off. 

Concerning the time for pruning, the best season is said to be when the 
winter frosts are well over and just before the sap starts in the spring. By 
early pruning the sap is made to act upon the buds unfavorably situated on 
the tree, brings them out, and also develops latent buds on the old wood. 
Thus one is enabled to prevent the tree from becoming covered with naked 
limbs. 

A suggestive outline of pruning policy by Prof. Bioletti, who 
has given many years to handling of olive trees in California and to 
observation of other operations, is as follows : 

At the end of the first growing season, no pruning is necessary except 
the removal of strong shoots on the lower half of the stem where main 
branches are not desirable. 

At the end of the second growing season, many trees will require no 
pruning at all. Some, however, will have developed strong branches in 
unsuitable places. These should be removed. Branches which cross from 
one side to the other, branches which are too crowded, or which interfere 
with the symmetry of the tree, or may interfere with cultivation, are mis- 



PRUNING THE OLIVE 



353 




Fig. 1. 



Fig. 4. 




Fig. 2. 



Fig. 3. 



354 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

placed. If there is a single strong central branch, this should be cut off 
at its base to promote the desirable open vase form of the main scaffold 
of the tree. 

With Mission and other upright growing varieties, the problem is rela- 
tively simple. With spreading varieties, like Manzanillo, it is difficult. In 
this case the best method is probably to drive a strong stake near the 
trunk, and by means of a rope tie up the spreading branches in the posi- 
tion it is desired to have them in the mature tree. 

This method should be continued until the trunk, main divisions and 
branches are well established and the tree large enough to bear a good 
crop without injury. This condition may arrive by the end of the third 
growing season, or may be deferred to the fourth, tifth or later, according 
to the variety, soil, water, climate and system of pruning. The formative 
period is then practically over and pruning adapted to bearing trees should 
be adopted. In a general way, the idea is to open up the tree and preserve 
the vase form, so that the conditions for fruit production may be favorable 
over as large an area of the tree as possible. To do this, it is necessary to 
cut out branches and twigs wherever the tree appears to be too dense to allow 
of free penetration of the sun rays. Each branch removed should be cut 
off at its origin or at a point where a side branch occurs which it is desir- 
able to leave. This applies also to small branches and twigs. 

Cutting-back or shortening-in should be used with moderation. It has 
a tendency to produce a dense center and the growth of vigorous upright 
sterile shoots and gradually a high-centered tree. It should be used only 
where necesary to stimulate growth of a weak tree by removing fruiting 
wood or to prevent horizontal branches from becoming too low. 



THE FRUIT AND ITS PRODUCTS 

Olives should be picked carefully and at the right time. For 
green pickles they should be picked very soon after they obtain 
full size, but before they have begun to color or soften. For ripe 
pickles and for oil-making the fruit should be gathered soon after 
the olives are well colored, but before they have attained the deep 
black which signifies overripeness. If the olives are gathered too 
green the oil will be bitter ; if too ripe, it will be rancid. When they 
can be easily shaken from the tree they are ripe enough. If they 
commence to fall without vigorous shaking they are overripe. For 
whatever purposes the olives are to be used they should be care- 
fully gathered by hand, and imperfect, immature, or bruised fruit 
rejected. Sound fruit is required for high-grade oil or for hand- 
some pickles with good keeping quality. 

The Manufacture of Olive Oil. — Olive oil is made in this State 
with apparatus of both Californian and European design, and, as a 
rule, there is made only one, and at most but two, pressings of the 
pomace, which is then used for fattening swine. In the frequent 
working over of the pomace, and the close extraction of the oil, as 
practiced in Europe, we have done little as yet. 

Olive oil is made on a small scale by a number of parties who 
use home-made contrivances, or small, portable cider machinery for 
the crushing and pressing. During the last few years quite a num- 
ber of mills have been erected at several points in California and 
they have inade a market for olives produced by growers who do 
not care to undertake manufacture. A detailed account of oil mak- 
ing, including descriptions of buildings and machinery, is beyond 



MAKING OLIVE OIL 355 

the scope of a treatise on fruit growing. Information must be had 
by visiting oil-making estabHshments and from the manufacturers 
of the appHances used in them. For the use of the grower who 
desires to make oil for home use, a few suggestions will be given. 

Drying. — Extraction of oil from fresh olives gives the best oil, 
but it is somewhat troublesome, and it is customary to partially dry 
them. This partial drying is also useful to keep the fruit for some 
time or for shipment before crushing. Place the olives in layers 
not more than three inches deep, on trays that are stacked in a dry, 
well-aired room, protected from the wind and the direct rays of 
the sun. Turn daily until the fruit becomes well wrinkled. This 
requires about eight or ten days, according to the degree of tem- 
perature. To hasten the drying process, artificial driers, constructed 
on the same principle as fruit driers, are sometimes used. The 
olives are placed in a single layer upon trays, and the drier is kept 
at a temperature of about one hundred and twenty degrees Fahren- 
heit. The drying takes about forty-eight hours — more or less — 
according to the nature of the fruit. 

Crushing. — The olives are crushed in a way to break up the 
flesh and pits very thoroughly. 

Pressing. — When the crusher has reduced the olives to a mass, 
a certain amount of the pulp is put in each of several coarse linen 
cloths and when the cloth is folded back it makes a cheese about 
three inches thick. Several of these cheeses are placed one above 
the other, with slats between, in a screw or lever press and the pres- 
sure applied gently at first. From the liquid which runs out first 
is made the very finest oil, known as "virgin oil." The pressure 
is then increased very gradually until the full power of the machine 
is reached. 

Settling and Clarifying. — The liquid from the press is dark col- 
ored, and it is conducted into a receptable for settling. The first 
settling is conveniently made by means of a funnel-shaped appa- 
ratus, which by its conical shape facilitates the rapid deposition of 
sediment. After standing for twenty-four hours in this apparatus 
the major part of the sediment is deposited and can be drawn off 
at the bottom. It is well before running the oil into the settling 
tanks to pass it through two or three inches of cotton wool. This 
is accomplished by means of a funnel with a perforated, horizontal 
cross partition, upon which the cotton is placed. It takes, generally, 
about one month for the oil to settle sufficiently in the first tank, 
after which it should be drawn off carefully into the second, and so 
on until it is sufficiently bright. Three rackings are usually suf- 
ficient. 

Olives are sometimes ground and pressed in portable cider mills 
or ground in barley crushers for oil manufacture on a small scale. 
As the above description shows, oil making is a simple process, and 
may be carried on at home with rude devices. It is, however, a 
process requiring care and cleanliness, and intelligent personal at- 
tention. 



355 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Pickling the Olive. — Olives are pickled in a green state, as is 
the case with imported olives ; or in a ripe state, as largely under- 
taken in California. No one had any conception at first of the dif- 
ficulties attending the production of pickled ripe olives which 
would have the keeping quality demanded in an article of com- 
merce. It is now clearly seen that treating ripe olives to extract 
the bitterness and to secure firmness, good flavor and keeping qual- 
ity is one of the most difficult propositions in our horticultural 
manufacturing, and we can but admire the wisdom of the Spaniard 
in teaching Anglo-Saxons to enjoy green olives. 

Lye Treatment of Ripe Olives. — The following is an outline of 
the pickling of olives as drawn from the University publications 
by Professor Bioletti : 

1. Gather the fruit carefully by hand without bruising. It is best when 
cherry red or just turned black. When green, it lacks flavor and oil and 
when over-ripe it is too soft and the skin is tough. Soft, shriveled, or 
frost-bitten olives are unsuited for pickling. 

2. Place the olives in an open vessel of glass or earthenware, or a 
wooden bucket or barrel. Metal vessels should not be used. A wooden 
cover to fit loosely inside the vessel on top of the olives will prevent the 
spotting of olives which float. 

3. Make a lye solution of three ounces (three tablespoonfuls of soda 
lye to a gallon of water or approximately one pound of lye to five gallons. 

4. Cover the olives with this solution, keeping them submerged by 
means of the wooden cover. Stir and examine the olives every hour. As 
soon as the skin changes color, cut an olive occasionally to note by the dis- 
coloration of the flesh how far the lye has penetrated. 

5. When the lye has gone through the skin but only a very short way 
into the flesh, pour it oflf into another vessel. This will be in from three 
to eight hours, according to the olives and the temperature. 

6. Expose the olives to the air until the color is darkened and equal- 
ized. They should be stirred frequently while exposed. To make them all 
black requires from one to three days or more, but the flavor is better if 
not exposed too long. 

7. When the desired color is attained, replace the old lye by fresh lye 
and leave with frequent stirring until it has penetrated to the pit. It must 
reach the pit or the olives will be bitter, but if left long after reaching the 
pit, the flesh will be softened and the color bleached. 

8. Replace the lye with water, which should be changed twice daily, 
until all taste of lye is removed — about five to seven days. 

9. Then place for twenty-four hours in a brine of five ounces (five 
tablespoons) of salt to a gallon of water. 

Pure- Water Process. — Pickled olives are made without the use 
of lye, but this process is only practicable with olives whose bitter- 
ness is easily extracted, and where the water is extremely pure and 
plentiful, and even then it is very slow and tedious. The olives are 
placed from the beginning in pure water, which is changed twice a 
day until the bitterness is sufficiently extracted. This requires from 
forty to sixty days or more. 

Green Pickles. — Green pickled olives are made by essentially 
the same processes as are used for ripe olives. The extraction of 
the bitterness requires the same care. The olives are pickled soon 
after they have attained full size, and before they have shown 
any signs of coloring or softening. They are rather more easily 



RIPE OLIVE REQUIREMENTS 357 

made than the ripe pickles, as there is less danger of spoiling and 
they can be kept in casks of brine as ordinary pickles are. 

Canning the Ripe Olive. — Canned olives, put upon the market in 
the same form as other canned fruit, have recently become popular. 
There are special canneries for their preparation at several points 
in the State and the general canneries also handle olives in consid- 
erable quantities. The process is in the main like that of canning 
other fruits, but special points have to be learned through experi- 
ence, and an outfit suitable for large scale work is needed for com- 
mercial production. Owing to danger of unwholesomeness in ripe 
pickled olives, the following requirements by the California Board 
of Health are now complied with by commercial canners : 

Ripe olives must be sterilized in canning at a temperature of 240 degrees 
Fahrenheit for not less than forty minutes by means of a retort controlled 
by an automatic self-recording thermometer device in proper vv^orking or- 
der. It is within the power of the U. S. Bureau of Food and Drugs and 
California State Board of Health to sieze and condemn all ripe olives not 
produced in conformity with these regulations. The enforcement of these 
regulations removes all danger from ripe olive poisoning. 

VARIETIES OF THE OLIVE GROWN TN CALIFORNIA 

Many varieties of the olive were brought to California from 
southern Europe previous to 1890. Fifty-seven varieties were an- 
alyzed and elaborately reported upon by the University experts, and 
of these about fifteen varieties at first promised to rise to commer- 
cial account, but many of them have been dropped. It is an inter- 
esting fact, however, that in spite of the efforts put forth to secure 
a better olive than the old Mission variety, this old sort still heads 
the list. 

The following are the varieties now being propagated in Cali- 
fornia on a commercial scale, arranged approximately in the order 
of their present popularity: Mission; Manzanillo; Sevillano ; Asco- 
lano. 

Other varieties are sometimes used for pickling and oil, and are 
retained in the list, largely for old acquaintance sake : 

The Mission Olive. — By this name is signified the variety found growing 
at the old missions in California. It has long been known that the so-called 
Mission olive embraced several varieties, or sub-varieties at least. 

Common or Broad- Leaved Mission Olive. — The variety of olive most gen- 
erally known as the Mission; ovate, oblique — sometimes very much so— the 
pit straight or slightly curved, fruit very variable in size, growing singly 
or in clusters of two or three, or even five; time of ripening, late, in the 
coast region sometimes not before February, but generally in December; in 
interior localities in November; tree vigorous and a good bearer, preferred 
by picklers. 

Redding Picholine. — Imported by the late B. B. Redding, and supposed to 
be a large pickling variety, but it proved to be a small seedling — a shoot 
coming from the root below the graft, probably. It roots very readily from 
cuttings and is used as a stock on which to graft improved varieties. 

Oblonga. — Imported by John Rock from France. An olive of a peculiar, 
club-like shape, being narrow at the stem end, broad at the point, rounded 
and strongly oblique; generally pointed at both ends. The pulp loses its 



358 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

bitterness comparatively quickly in pickling. This olive ripens early — at 
least two or three weeks earlier than the Broad-leaved Mission; color, dark 
purple. 

Manzanillo. — Imported by F. PohndorflE from Spain. As the name 
("small apple") indicates, this variety is nearly round, with a pit of rounded 
oval shape, rather squarely cut off at the base. This variety ripens early — 
several weeks earlier than the Broad-leaved Mission olive; the fruit grows 
generally singly on long stems; a trifle larger than Mission; quality of 
pickles excellent; not a good bearer in all places and ripe fruit subject to 
rot in hot regions. 

Columbella. — Imported by John Rock from France. General form, 
broadly oval; very even in size, remarkable for the peculiar pale yellow 
color which all the fruit assumes before turning fully ripe and becoming 
dark purple; pit small, straight and sharp pointed; the pulp contains little 
bitterness; flavor very rich; ripens late, later than the Broad-leaved Mis- 
sion. Tree hardy in dry places and a prolific bearer. Also called "Colum- 
ella." 

Nevadillo Blanco, — Imported by F. Pohndorfif from Spain. Oval, slightly 
oblique, pointed, resembling somewhat a Mission, but is generally more 
elongated in proportion to its diameter than the latter; pit small, curved, 
and generally pointed at both ends; the fruit is borne in clusters of three 
to five; ripening not much earlier than the Mission; a fine oil olive, largely 
planted, but disappointing in some regions as a shy bearer and subject to 
frost injury. 

Oblitza. — Imported by the late G. N. Milco from Dalmatia; resembles the 
Pendoulier, and may be identical; fine in the San Joaquin Valley; very 
large oval, but broad and rounded at both ends; grows in clusters; tree 
a good grower, hardy and productive; fruit excellent for pickles; ripens in 
November in the interior — about the same as the Mission. 

Sevillano. — Recently largely planted as the variety exported from Spain 
as the "Queen olive." Very large; only useful in pickling; when ripe, bluish 
black; clingstone. Tree a strong grower, leaves deep green, greenish white 
underneath. Described by Mr. Roeding as a regular bearer, but requires 
deep, rich, well-drained soil, and will not stand much cold. Sells at high 
prices because of great size; ripens early. 

Ascolano. — "White olive of Ascoli." Very large, "large as a French 
prune and much like one in shape" (Bioletti). Excellent for pickles, but 
not desirable in color of either green or ripe pickles, and has to be carefully 
handled in pickling. Reported a good bearer and has recently been quite 
largely planted. 



CHAPTER XXXII 



THE ORANGE 



The orange leads all fruits of California. In Chapter VI will 
be found the numbers of trees and value of product for 1920, and 
the railway shipments beyond State lines for a term of years, upon 
which the supremacy of the orange rests. In view of this leader- 
ship it seems fitting to take a little wider range in the discussion 
of the significance of the orange in the development of California 
than has been indulged in the consideration of other fruits, and 
this is justified by the fact that the orange is, in the public mind, 
the chief exponent of the horticultural resources of the State and 
its attributes in this direction are shared in varying degrees by the 
other fruits. The greatness of orange growing in California be- 
comes, then, in various ways the token of our advancement in one 
of the highest of the agricultural arts, and in the mastery of long- 
distance commercial distribution of fresh fruits. These achieve- 
ments are also a demonstration of the quality of our agricultural 
citizenship. 

THE ORANGE INDUSTRY OF THE WORLD 

From the beginning the orange has reigned as king in the inter- 
national fruit trade of the world. The grape has always been and 
is still, greater in the value of its contribution to commerce and in 
the distance it safely traverses, but the grape rules not as a fruit, 
but through its manufactured products, while the orange carries 
its natural beauty, fragrance and flavor unchanged around the 
world. From the earliest times the orange has not only been 
accepted in northern climes as a symbol of tropical and sub-tropical 
salubrity and sumptuousness, but by its own distinctive character- 
istics as a fruit it has won recognition as befitting the highest uses 
of mankind. By its nature too the orange ministers to its own 
commercial popularity. It endures long shipment ; it ripens slowly 
and through a season of several months which constitute the winter 
in northern latitudes when local fruits are scant or absent and the 
refreshment in the citric juices is most welcome. The production of 
such a commercial commodity has from the earliest times consti- 
tuted an important industry. 

It is a significant fact that though the orange thrives in the 
tropics it does not resent the slight touch of frost which character- 
izes semi-tropical situations. It is also significant that the fruit 
grown in semi-tropical countries, especially those which have a 
more or less distinctly marked two-season climate, differs in 
character from the strictly tropical orange and is firmer, heavier, 
more sprightly in flavor and with much better keeping and carrying 
qualities. The tropical orange has but small commercial impor- 



360 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

tance; the semi-tropical orange rules in the markets of the world. 
That the semi-tropical orange should have this distinctive character 
is most fortunate, for it ministers directly to the will for industry 
which is superior in semi-tropical countries. By the seven degrees 
of frost which the orange tree will endure without injury, it has 
gained the seventy degrees of north latitude through which its fruit 
freely seeks a market. Because, though the tropical orange would 
reach most distant markets in small quantities, it could never attain 
the commercial supremacy which the fruit now enjoys. 

The sweet orange is a native of eastern Asia and was carried 
thence to India and to Asia Minor. It possibly reached Portugal 
from India through the early Portuguese navigators. Thus the 
distribution of the fruit was westward. The history of modern com- 
mercial orange growing consists of a series of progressive move- 
ments always trending westward and gaining in volume — the newer 
centers of production outstripping the older and ultimately largely 
displacing their product from the greatest markets of the upper 
divisions of the temperate zone. When the Moors introduced orange 
growing into Algeria and Spain they displaced the traffic from 
Asia Minor and gave the Mediterranean region for several hundred 
years undisputed possession of the markets of the north of Europe 
and possession also of the American demand when that arose. 
When the Spaniards and Portuguese carried the orange to the West 
Indies and to Florida they laid the foundation for an industry which 
American enterprise developed in Florida until that district not 
only contended with the Mediterranean region for American 
markets, but was planning to invade northern Europe by direct 
ship-loads when the demonstration came that the climate of north- 
ern Florida and of the Gulf coast westward was too treacherous for 
commercial ventures in orange growing — at least with the then 
popular varieties and methods of propagation. But as the Florida 
supply failed through the severe freezing of 1895, California came 
forward and, though Florida has re-established her citrus industry, 
California is now not only supplying the larger part of the oranges 
consumed in the United States, but is selling the highest priced 
oranges in the London market against a world of competitors. 

In support of this contention let it be noted that the most 
important statistical statement of the world's citrus fruits in the 
English language was published April 15, 1914.* It shows that 
the annual citrus fruit crop of the world is equal to from ninety 
to one hundred million boxes of California size, which would fill 
two hundred and thirty to two hundred and fifty thousand car- 
loads of California capacity. Of these the United States and Spain 
produce thirty per cent each ; Italy twenty-five per cent ; Japan 
and Palestine each less than five per cent; the balance, scattering. 
The acreage both in California and Florida is increasing. The 
normal product of the United States is approximately 78,000 car- 
loads, and California, in view of recent plantings, 50,000 carloads. 

'Bulletin 11, California Citrus Protective League, Los Angeles, "The World's Pro- 
duction and Commerce in Citrus Fruits and Their By-products," by F. O. Wallschlaeger, 
Secretary. 



THE ORANGE IN COMMERCE 351 

All the countries thus mentioned as contributing to the world's 
commercial product are endowed with semi-tropical and not with 
tropical climates. 

RELATION OF CALIFORNIA TO THE WORLD'S ORANGE 

PRODUCT 

Competition with the product of California is working hardship 
in the Mediterranean region because this region can more than 
supply Europe, and needs American markets as an outlet. Italy 
has exported six million dollars worth of oranges and lemons in a 
year, but recently prices have declined and the interest is depressed. 
Every effort is being made to secure relief from local taxation and 
from duties imposed by north European countries. The Spanish 
product of oranges and lemons, which ranks with that of the United 
States, has to meet heavy tariffs in all countries except the United 
Kingdom and the belief at Valencia is (U. S. Commercial Relations, 
Vol. 2, 1902, page 686) that the limit of British consumption of 
Valencia oranges at paying rates has been reached ; in fact, the 
British markets collapsed under the heavy shipments of 190L 
When it is stated that the value of oranges imported into the 
United Kingdom in 1900 was $10,603,950, and such a free buyer 
has more than enough, it can be realized how important it is to 
the Mediterranean producers that the populous countries of central 
Europe should hold less strictly to agrarian interests which aim to 
hamper the entrance of food supplies even if they can not them- 
selves produce them. Manifestly the American product can only 
enter such markets with a fancy product which will win an extra 
price, except as a little difference in the ripening season may afford 
an opportunity. 

Because of the decreased import duties under the tariff of 1913 
the commercial position of the orange in the United States was 
such as to awaken apprehension, but the war brought full demand 
and increased prices. In 1921 we are confronted by the need of a 
tariff which will preserve the American citrus industry. The 
product of the West Indies is a direct menace to the Florida product, 
which meets it in point of market season, and the Mexican 
product, which was, before the Mexican revolution, undergoing 
expansion at the hands of American capitalists, is constantly feared 
by the California growers because the Mexican railway will give it 
quick entrance to the great central states and constant advantage 
in distribution to the East and the Northwest. The orange from 
the West Indies and South Florida is different from the California 
orange in main ripening season and in character of the fruit, but 
the differences do not give full relief. With the late ripening 
varieties, the CaHfornia grower extends his shipments into the 
autumn, and thus laps upon the early fruit from Florida and 
Jamaica, while the parts of California which bring earliest maturity 
to the fruit are shipping before the Southern fruit is cleared away. 
In fact, California can keep the markets supplied with oranges fresh 
from the trees and in prime condition the year round. 



362 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

As to the difference in oranges grown under humid and arid 
conditions, the moisture being suppHed by rainfall in one case and 
by irrigation in the other, there has been shown in the arid region 
orange a superior density, thinness and texture of rind, higher 
sugar and higher acid percentages and a more sprightly or vinous 
flavor. The popular conception of the superior sweetness of the 
orange grown in humid countries is due not to a greater amount 
of sugar in the juice, but to less amount of acid. The following 
are the determinations of sugar and acid of fully ripe Southern 
California and Florida navel oranges : 



California Navel 
Florida Navel . 



Total sugar, 


Citric acid, 


per cent. 


per cent. 


9.99 


1.45 


7.46 


0.95 



Of course, the quality of an orange is largely inherent in the 
variety, but all varieties are similarly changed by growth under 
humid or arid conditions of climate and soil, and this modification 
becomes a factor of much industrial importance. This fact is strik- 
ingly illustrated by the standing of the navel orange in California. 
This variety has been grown for a century or more as the chief 
orange in Bahia, Brazil, whence it came to California. In Brazil it 
demonstrated no shipping qualities, and according to Burke (U. S. 
Special Consular Reports, Vol. 1, page 411) would need to be picked 
before maturity if to be shipped, while as grown in California and 
Arizona it is picked at full maturity and is successfully shipped all 
over the United States and to Europe. An examination of the Bahia 
district in 1913, by A. D. Shamel and associates, showed that the 
orange which is the foundation of the export industry of California 
is, in its home, only an article of local trade. 

Orange growing in Florida is recovering from serious reverses. 
The product of 1894 was about 4,000,000 boxes. Then came the 
disastrous freezing in December of 1894 and February, 1895, with 
a temperature of 14 degrees Fahrenheit at Jacksonville, and in the 
latter year only 75,000 boxes were shipped. In 1920 the orange 
product of California and Florida compared as follows :* 

Boxes. Farm Value. 

California 18,700,000 $51,425,000 

Florida 8,500,000 18,700,000 

In Louisiana the freezing of 1895 nearly annihiliated the citrus 
fruit interest and only recently has there been any disposition to 
resume production on a commercial scale. In Texas there is an 
experimental orange industry on the basis of hardy Japanese 
varieties, largely. Its future is a matter of conjecture. In the south- 
western corner of Arizona there is a small orange industry which is 
successfully shipping navel oranges to distant rnarkets. Conditions 
favor early ripening and an advantage is secured by sale in advance 
of the main California product. The orange industry of the United 
States is now largely supplying the home demand for the fruit. 

'Yearbook 1920, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



WHY CALIFORNIA ORANGES LEAD 353 

Imports of oranges reached their highest value in 1883 at $3,010,662, 
and have since then declined. The value in 1913 was $227,827.50 — 
much less than one-tenth of the imports of thirty years before. The 
value of imported oranges in 1919 was $52,790. 

The orange industry of the United States is unique in the high 
social and financial standing of those who have engaged in it, and 
in the striking features of its development. Both in Florida and 
in California large scale production was first undertaken by North- 
ern men who had gained wealth and had lost health in the pursuit 
of it. They brought capital and commercial ability to the ventures 
which they exploited. The professional classes of the North also 
participated largely in the work, bringing scholarship, insight and 
experience in organization. There were a few also who possessed 
horticultural experience, but the other classes largely predominated. 
The result has been the development of an industry characteris- 
tically American in spirit and new in methods. It has borrowed 
very little from the practices of old-world orange growers. Free 
from tradition and prejudice it proceeded rapidly upon the results 
of original investigation and experiment, establishing a system of 
culture and of commercial handling of the product which are with- 
out precedent in the older orange regions of the world.* 

DISTRIBUTION OF CITRUS CONDITIONS IN 
CALIFORNIA 

Citrus culture conditions exist in suitable situations from Shasta 
to San Diego county — an air-line distance of more than six hundred 
miles. It is so surprising that practically the same climate should 
be found through a distance of between seven and eight degrees of 
latitude that many, even of those who have lived in California, do 
not appreciate the fact, nor know the explanation of it. An effort 
is made toward such explanation in Chapter I of this work. Even 
at the risk of repetition the subject will be reviewed with special 
reference to the occurrence of conditions affecting the growth of 
citrus fruits. 

First: California is not only blessed with benign ocean influ- 
ences, but Northern California is additionally protected from low 
winter temperatures by the mountain barrier of the Sierra Nevada, 
extending southward from the multiplied masses of protecting 
elevations in the Shasta region, while Southern California enjoys 
the protection of the Sierra Madre and other uplifts on the north and 
east of her citrus region. Northern blizzards are, therefore, held 
back from entrance to California and are forced to confine them- 
selves to southerly and easterly directions over the interior parts of 
the Pacific slope, while the great blizzards of the Northwest traverse 

*The literature of citrus fruits in California is large. In addition to continuous ex- 
position in local horticultural journals, there are frequent articles in the popular maRa- 
zines. The Bureau of Plant Industry of the U. S. Dept. of Agr., at Washington, has pub- 
lished several important reports and bulletins; as, also has the California Experiment Sta- 
tion—of which there is a branch at Riverside. The industry has also developed a special 
treatise, entitled "Citrus Fruits: an account of the Citrus Fruit Industry with special ref- 
erence to California requirements and practices and similar conditions," by Dr. T. E. Coit, 
of the University of California. It is a very satisfactory exposition of things the citrus 
grower needs to know. Published by Macmillan Co., N. Y. ; 522 pages; fully illustrated. 



364 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



the Mississippi Valley and, if they have sufficient impetus, extend 
to the Gulf and carry destruction to semi-tropical growths even in 
Northern Florida. The ocean then bringing warmth and the high 
mountains defending against cold, combine their influences to give 
nearly the whole length of California semi-tropical winter tempera- 
tures. 

Second : Although this striking similarity does exist, in citrus 
districts north and south, there is another even more startling 
proposition involved and that is the influence exerted by the pres- 
ence of the Coast Range as the western boundary of the great 
interior valley of the State, and intervening between that great 
valley and the ocean. The several ridges of the Coast Range with 
their enclosed small valleys serve as a colossal wind-break against 
northwest winds, which might otherwise, now and again, bring a 
temperature too low for citrus fruits, where now they are safe 
from injury. The chief efifect of these mountains is to protect the 
northern interior valleys and foothills from the raw winds of early 
springtime, and to allow the sun as he crosses each day higher in 
his course, to expend the increasing heat directly in promoting 
vernal verdure. The result is a protected interior region in Central 
and Northern California, of quick growth in all lines — early pas- 
turage, early grain harvest and early fruit ripening. The valleys 
of Southern California, which have thus far been largely developed, 
have no high range between them and the ocean. They are open 
on the west because the Coast Range of mountains takes a sharp 
turn eastward in the southern part of the State and afterward 
curves southward, passing along the eastern side of the chief pro- 
ductive region. The influence of this opening of the valleys of 
Southern California is not so unfavorable as such opening would 
be at the north, because ocean winds are gentler and warmer there, 
and there is winter service rendered by this eastward trend of the 
Southern California mountains, as has been said, but the fact 
remains that the absence of high barriers against ocean influences 
retards the springtime and causes a slow development of summer 
conditions and late ripening of fruits, while the presence of high 
barriers at the north so hastens springtime and summer heat, that 
early summer fruits in California are shipped from the north to the 
south — a thing which does not occur anywhere else in the northern 
hemisphere. It is due to this same early start which the local topog- 
raphy gives to the orange, followed by the high summer heat which 
is essential to the development of a good orange, that the orange 
reaches an acceptable commercial condition at an earlier date in 
suitable interior places at the north and is at present being almost 
wholly shipped to eastern markets before free movement begins at 
the south. This early marketing also relieves the growers of much 
anxiety and costly frost fighting, because the fruit, which is always 
more susceptible to injury than the tree, is out of the way before 
the frost period, which usually begins about Christmas, is reached. 

There is in Southern California, east of the mountains, a district 
which has thus far been but scantily developed where protection 
from ocean influences tends to early ripening of fruits. The same 



PREVALENCE OF CITRUS CONDITIONS 



365 



is true of some parts of Arizona adjacent, and small quantities of 
early fruits move westward and northward from that region. That 
region is not in view in this discussion, for too little has been 
accomplished in citrus lines to warrant conclusions which recent 
planting in that part of the State may soon supply. 

Third : Still another feature of local topography must be men- 
tioned as influencing citrus conditions north and south and explain- 
ing why winter temperature has fallen no lower at the north than 
at the south. At the north the snow fields of the high mountains 
are farther from the valleys and mesas, where citrus fruits are 
grown, than they are at the south. The benches and low foothills 
of the Sacramento Valley, for instance, are forty to fifty miles from 
the high range to the east of them and there intervene countless 
ridges of high foothills and small valleys, and before the citrus 
plantations can be reached by the descending air currents they are 
considerably warmed by rustling over so much land which has been 
warmed by the ampler winter sunshine. From many of the south- 
ern citrus regions one looks almost directly upward and outward 
upon the grand snow-clad mountains, whose crests are but fifteen 
to twenty-five miles away. It is a splendid scenic effect — ripening 
oranges and dazzling snow fields in the same glance of the eye, but 
it is sometimes not so grand as a pomological proposition. 

Fourth : Another protective influence for citrus fruit trees during 
the frosty period of December and January, is the low canopy of 
land fog which covers the interior valley of Central and Northern 
California much of the time at that season of the year and checks 
the radiation of ground heat which is apt to take place rapidly under 
a clear sky. Though the nights are thus often protected from the 
frosts, the day temperature is held low, which is also of account, 
because the citrus trees are held dormant, which is desirable, as 
there is no fruit to ripen. On the other hand, the higher day temper- 
ature in Southern California is valuable in that district because the 
later fruit is still maturing. The winter aspects of the trees in 
Northern and Southern California are therefore quite different ; in 
the north, the dark green of dormancy ; in the south, the gold of the 
fruit and the oft-protruding light green of the winter wood growth. 
In both regions all growth conditions seem good ; each after its own 
kind, and the two, in a sense, complementary. 

During the last few years there has been rapid extension of 
orange planting, particularly in the suitable lands on the eastern 
rim of the San Joaquin and on both sides of the Sacramento Valley. 
The orange product of the northern district is normally about one- 
eighth of the State product. Nearly five-sixths of all the trees north 
of the Tehachapi mountains are in the citrus districts of eastern 
Tulare County. 

THE GENERAL OUTLOOK FOR THE ORANGE 

At the present time orange growing has a very promising out- 
look. The prospect for much larger consumption, at the East and 
abroad, is very encouraging. The orange is passing from its old 



356 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

status as a luxury to its proper recognition as a staple winter fruit 
for dwellers in cold climates. For such use the agreeable acid and 
sprightly flavor of the California fruit especially commend it. The 
consumption of the fruit per capita, away from California, is still 
small and will be greatly increased when people know better its 
desirability and the reasonable prices at which it can be secured. 
This wider distribution is to be confidently expected and the rapid 
increase in population through the great West and North is each 
year giving California growers nearer markets of growing con- 
sumptive capacity. It will be of great advantage to the whole 
country, as well as California, to have production steadily increased. 

Some considerations in this line are given to the closing pages 
of Chapter VI. To fully appreciate the advantage of California in 
supplying the whole northern half of the North American continent, 
especially with early fruits and semi-tropical fruits, one should 
calculate the exceedingly small area of suitable fruit land in Cali- 
fornia as compared with the area of the half-continent indicated, 
which is our logical consuming territory and in which development 
and population are now increasing so rapidly. Take a map of the 
continent, place your thumb over the area of California and gaze 
at the uncovered area, north of the fortieth parallel, if you please, 
and estimate the duty of California in coming decades. Millions 
will multiply on the continent, but the safe area for tender fruits 
will never increase an acre. From this point of view, it really 
seems impossible for California to create an over-supply of fruits 
which are distinctively her province to grow. There are likely to 
be temporary surpluses and problems in distribution, but a general 
over-supply seems unreasonable. 

The development of the orange industry in California to utilize 
the splendid natural adaptations which have been discussed, to 
make good the large investments which have been made, and to 
afford a field for the profitable employment of the high quality of 
American citizenship which has entered the list of producers, several 
things are essential. First, the advancement of horticulture art and 
science. Second, the maintenance for a time at least, of a sufficient 
protective tariff, as has already been suggested. Third, the exten- 
sion of co-operative handling and distribution of the product as now 
embodied in the successful operation of the California Fruit 
Growers' Exchange and its auxiliaries in all the producing districts. 
Fourth, the application of the results of systematic and intelligent 
inquiry and experiments into the durability of the fruit in transit as 
affected by cultural and commercial practices, and the effective 
advertisement of the desirability of oranges as food in parts of the 
country which have largest consuming capacity. 

SOILS AND SITUATIONS FOR THE ORANGE 

While citrus conditions do exist through large areas of California, 
there is still danger of loss and disappointment through unwary 
individual investments and unwise locations of citrus colony 
enterprises. The tracts of land for orange planting even in a favor- 



SOILS FOR THE ORANGE 357 

able citrus climate are limited in area and every citrus climate has 
numerous places where local meteorological conditions will prove 
destructive to the profit of the enterprise, if not to the life of the 
trees. The orange is a hardy tree, judged within its temperature 
limits, but there is no money in a tree which is subjected to any 
kind of hardship. For this reason the selection of a good depth of 
strong, free loam should be made, for such is essential not only 
to good growth of the young tree, but to its support through the 
long productive life which the orange enjoys. Depth of good soil 
is not only a storehouse of plant food, which will postpone the use 
of purchased fertilizers, but it is a reservoir of water so that irriga- 
tion can be applied in larger amounts at longer intervals. While 
it is quite possible to grow an orange tree and to secure good fruit 
on shallower soils, if conditions are kept just right by frequent use 
of water and fertilizers in just the right amounts, such conditions 
impose heavy burdens in their constant requirements of extra care 
and expenditure, and these are handicaps of no small economic 
importance. The tree can not live upon climate as a man may, 
because a tree can not speculate ; it must have a good foundation in 
the earth as well as a good outlook in the sky. 

Growing orange trees on defective soils has brought disappoint- 
ment and loss in all parts of California. Ample supplies of irrigation 
water available have encouraged over-irrigation where trees have 
been planted above hardpan and drainage is absent. Dying-back 
and yellow leaf have appeared in some groves and have been 
accounted for by digging to find the roots bedded in mud and slush. 
All plantings over clay sub-soils should be guarded against this 
danger. Digging deep holes and filling them with good soil is 
setting a trap for the future failure of the tree unless the deep hole 
is properly drained by the nature of the sub-soil or by artificial 
provision. On the other hand, planting over a gravelly sub-soil is 
often disappointing, because the water passes through the sub-soil 
as through a sieve, and the tree shows distress although generous 
amounts are applied to the surface. Wide observation through the 
State teaches that such warnings are needed by the unwary. There 
has also been injury to the tree from planting over sub-soils carrying 
excess of lime. 

Local temperature conditions even in sections generally suited 
to orange culture should be carefully ascertained. Frosty places 
must be avoided. A few feet difference in elevation may change 
profit to loss, but one must not therefore draw the hasty conclusion 
that all small elevations are favorable. The experience of the last 
few years shows that nothing is, on the whole, more dangerous than 
the warm bottom land in a small elevated valley which seems 
naturally protected on all sides. There are many such places which 
are far more treacherous than the uplands of the broad valleys, 
which may be considerably lower. The benches around the sides 
of the small valley may be safe and the bottom of the same valley 
dangerous because there is no adequate outflow for cold air to the 
large valley below. Look out for small valleys which have divides 
of crumpled hills where they debouch into the main valley. Cold 



368 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

air can be dammed and held back ; consequently the low land of a 
small valley may be worse than lower land in the main valley, 
because in the latter there are air currents which prevent accumula- 
tion of cold air in particular places. These air movements make 
some plantings on the upper plains of the main valley safe, though 
the whole region may seem to the eye rather flat and low, but, of 
course, broad sinks of the main valley may also be dangerous. Too 
great elevations are to be guarded against. Where one approaches 
the reach-down of mountain temperatures and loses the warming 
influences of the valley mesas, the danger line is at hand. 

An ample water supply is essential. Small waterings which may 
bring satisfactory growth to a young tree are no measure of the 
needs of a bearing tree. The orange is using water all the year, 
as discussed in Chapter XV. Its crop requires nearly a year to reach 
maturity. Both in leaf growth and fruit growth it nearly doubles 
the activity of the deciduous tree, and all the time it is pumping 
water with its roots and pouring forth water into the air through its 
exposed surfaces. No investment in orange planting can be profit- 
able without assurance of adequate water supply. 



PROPAGATION OF THE ORANGE 

The orange is grown from cuttings, layers and seeds. Growth 
from the seeds is the method almost exclusively followed, and by 
far the best, but the others will be mentioned briefly. 

Growth from Cuttings. — The method of propagation is described 
in Chapter VIII. 

Growth from Layers. — The orange roots readily by layering, the 
drooping branches being partly cut through, buried in the soil with 
the terminal shoots above the ground. Layers must be kept moist. 
Layering may be employed to obtain a few plants easily, but, other- 
wise, it cuts no figure in propagation. Layers and cuttings, of 
course, reproduce the original variety without recourse to budding. 

Growth from Seed. — The orange is grown upon seedlings of the 
bitter orange or orange of Seville, generally called "Florida sour 
stock" ; of the common or sweet orange and of the pomelo or Grape 
Fruit. Good plump seed should be selected in growing orange 
seedlings either for their own fruitage or to use as stocks for bud- 
ding. 

When seedlings for fruiting are grown, select seed from a choice 
variety in a situation where other citrus species are not grown ; but 
the orange can not be trusted to come true from seed, and, more 
than this, the seedling class for fruiting purposes has been prac- 
tically abandoned as unprofitable to plant, though fruit from old 
seedling trees is occasionally sold at a profit. 

In securing seed the fruit is allowed to rot and when thoroughly 
decayed, it is pulped by mashing in a barrel, and the mass is washed, 
a little at a time, on a coarse sieve, the pulp passing through, and the 
seed being caught on the wires, and pieces of skin thrown out. The 



PROPAGATION OF THE ORANGE 359 

plump seed will sink if thrown into water, and the imperfect can be 
skimmed from the top. The seed should never be allowed to dry, 
and unless it is to be sown at once, should be stored by mixing with 
moist sand, from which it can be afterwards removed by sifting; or 
it can be kept for a time in water, changing the water from time to 
time to prevent souring. The best time for sowing orange seed is 
after the ground has become warm in the spring. 

Orange seedlings are grown either in boxes or in the open 
ground. In either case a rich sandy loam which will not bake 
should be secured or artificially made by mixing sand with rich 
garden loam. Boxes of about two square feet area and six inches 
deep are convenient to handle. The bottom should have holes, or 
sufficient crevices for good drainage. Fill the boxes about four 
inches with the prepared soil, place the seeds about an inch and a 
half apart each way, sift over them about an indh of the soil, or a 
little less of the soil, and a la3^er of clean sand if it is at hand. It 
is essential that the soil should be kept moist, and light sprinkling 
daily, or every other day, with water that has been warmed by 
standing in the sun, is desirable. Seed can be sown in boxes in the 
house at any time if plenty of light and heat are given. If the boxes 
are to be out-of-doors, it is best to sow in the spring, and to rig up a 
cover of cheap cotton cloth, suspended about a foot above the sur- 
face, to prevent effect of frost at night, and of burning by sun heat 
by day. The seedlings usuall}^ appear in about six weeks, and with 
good care in weeding and keeping sufficiently, but not excessively, 
moist, they will make a growth of about a foot the first season. 
Some growers collect the boxes in a sheltered place, and build over 
them a lath house, tacking on old sacks or other cloth, to shield 
them from the sun and frost. The lath house keeps animals from 
running over the boxes, etc. 

Growing seedlings in an open bed involves about the same opera- 
tions. To guard against intrusion, it is advisable to make board 
sides to the bed about a foot high, and to make lath frames which 
will reach across, resting on the edge boards. A cloth sun-and-frost 
shade is also desirable, to be laid over the lath frames when it seems 
needed. Beds should be made narrow enough so that one can easily 
reach half way across from each of the long sides for weeding, etc. 
In open seed beds it is usual to broadcast the seed evenly, using 
about one gallon to 200 square feet, which should give about 5000 
seedlings. 

The Orange Nursery. — Planting out in nursery is usually done 
after the ground is thoroughly warmed in the spring, and the seed- 
lings are then about a year old. The preparation of nursery ground 
and the planting out of the seedlings can be done as described in 
Chapter VIII. Orange seedlings should, however, be given greater 
distance apart in the nursery than is usual for deciduous trees, 
because the orange remains longer in the nursery, and because it is 
usually desirable, when taking up, to sack the ball of earth embrac- 
ing the roots. If the roots are not to be sacked, about nine inches 
will do between the plants ; if to be sacked, the distance should be 



370 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

twelve or fifteen inches. The rows should not be too close. If horse 
cultivation is to be used, at least four feet between the rows should 
be allowed, and even greater distance is desirable. In taking the 
seedlings from the seed beds, a few should be lifted at a time, and 
their roots kept shaded and moist until the ground closes on them 
in the nursery row. To get an even stand in the nursery, small and 
weak plants should be placed by themselves, or set in boxes to take 
another year before going into nursery. 

Young trees in nursery are very liable to frost injury, and it is 
wise to protect them by some sort of a cover during the winter. A 
framework covered with cypress brush is often used, the whole 
being cleared away in the spring to allow of summer cultivation. 
Cultivation of trees in nursery is about the same as with deciduous 
fruit trees. The horse should be used, and the surface kept perfectly 
pulverized. The cultivator should follow irrigation as soon as the 
soil will admit of it. Frequency of irrigation of nursery depends, of 
course, upon local conditions. Some give two or three irrigations, 
by running the water in a little trench alongside the rows, at inter- 
vals of two weeks, for a time after planting, and then irrigate once a 
month during the summer. It is important that irrigation should not 
be continued too late into the fall, because the young tree should 
harden its wood before cold weather. Nor is it desirable that the 
growth be too rapid. A good growth of sound wood is better than 
extra size. 

Length of Time in Nursery. — Seedlings are usually budded after 
being out one or two years in the nursery, or at two or three years 
from the planting of the seed. At a convenient time in the winter 
the lower shoots and thorns are removed from the seedlings, so as to 
leave a clean stem of about six inches for the convenience of the 
budder. 

Intensive Work in the Citrus Nursery. — In addition to the fore- 
going general reflections the reader may be interested in a specific 
sketch of pushing a citrus nursery as described by Mr. R. E. 
Hodges : 

Mr. Allen Dodson, of Los Angeles County, put 17 hay-rack loads of the 
rottenest manure he could find on a sandy space 290x60 feet. This had to 
be worked and reworked to leave no lumps of manure. The sand is neces- 
sary to prevent baking. Then he planted 8^ bushels of seed, watered 
carefully about every other day and kept the weeds down for rix weeks 
before they came up. They grew about a foot before cold weather came. 
Around the seedling bed were set upright 2x4s twenty feet apart and 6 feet 
out of the ground for head-room. From post to post were 1x3 boards on 
which laths were nailed upright about IJ/2 inches apart. Above these laths 
is a two-foot open space and then a roof similar to the sides but made in 
20-foot squares so it may be easily removed. This open space (to get head- 
room) should also be lathed, on the south and west at least, because the 
low winter sun shines directly onto the seedlings and may turn theni yellow. 
The shadows under the lath are perpetually moving with the sun so that 
direct light never stays long at a time on a given tree. The movable roof 
makes it easy to set up the outfit on new ground. One year Mr. Dodson 
sold 185,000 seedlings from a certain plot and tried it again the next year 
on the same place, getting only 4,000 salable ones. He had used only a 
third as much manure the second year, thinking to have some advantage 
from that applied before. 



THE ORANGE NURSERY 371^ 

BUDDING THE ORANGE 

The orange root is the best foundation for an orange tree, and 
seedlings of the Florida sour orange are now being used almost to 
the exclusion of other stock, for its great hardiness and thrift and to 
escape gum disease — being less subject to that trouble. Oranges 
have also been worked upon pomelo seedlings, which force a strong 
growth, root deeply and are satisfactory. Of course, many lemon 
and recently many pomelo trees have been worked over to the 
orange, but in these cases the orange root was below the other wood. 
All lemon roots are not suitable for the orange. The Japanese prac- 
tice of dwarfing with the citrus trifoliata has never prevailed in this 
State. Recently the trifoliata stock has been used to some extent to 
secure earlier ripening of fruit, and it is claimed that the tree is 
sufficiently free growing, also that the effect of free-growing top 
increases the development of the root, but experience favors the 
other roots for standard trees. 

Budding is almost exclusively employed. The best time to bud 
is about the time the new growth starts on the seedling in the 
spring, though some practice budding in midsummer and fall. Good, 
well-matured buds only should be used ; those from both base and 
tip of the shoots are frequently defective. Buds should be taken 
only from fruiting branches ; not from sterile sucker growth, and 
from trees which are known to bear abundantly a good type of 
fruit.* For spring budding, buds can be taken from fruiting trees 
and kept dormant in moist sand in a cool place until the seedlings 
show a sap-flow suitable for budding. 

The method of budding described in Chapter IX is that usually 
employed in budding citrus trees, and the rules for loosening the 
ligature, etc., are similar. Midsummer buds are apt to have soft 
growth at the coming of cold weather; fall buds remain dormant 
until spring; spring buds start to grow almost immediately, and 
have the benefit of the whole summer season for growth and 
maturing of wood. 

Budding Nursery Seedlings. — A detailed description of the way 
budding of nursery seedlings is rapidly done by Mr. H. A. Randall 
of Whittier, who has budded 1600 seedlings in a 9-hour day, is 
graphically given by Mr. R. E. Hodges, as follows : 

When the bark slips nicely on the stocks, and when the weather is likely 
to be clear and warm, is the time to bud citrus seedlings. The buds "take" 
finely when sap is flowing vigorously on warm days in February and March. 

Fat buds on plump sticks are selected. Long narrow buds make it hard 
to close the bark evenly over them, as is very necessary. Leaf stems are 
left % inch long when cutting bud sticks, for convenience in handling the 
buds. 

The transverse cut on the young stock is made with the edge ot the 
blade sloping upward, and the vertical cut made upward from that, so there 
would be every chance to shed rain. Buds are inserted six to eight inches 

*The importance of selecting buds from prolific trees of the best types and of taking 
buds from fruiting wood has been fully demonstrated by A. D. Shamel. Details of his 
work are published by the Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. 
C., in a series of publications of which definite citation can be had by application to the 
Bureau. Buds from selected trees are furnished by the Supply Department of the Cali- 
fornia Fruit Growers' Exchange of Los Angeles, and are chiefly used by propagators. 



372 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

above ground to help avoid gum disease, especially with lemoas, for the 
stocks are resistant. 

Having cut the bud and inserted it immediately, the knife ^oint is stuck 
crosswise into the bark below the bud so it can be quickly shoved upward 
to place. 

A strip of waxed cloth a foot long and three-eighths inch wide is 
wrapped around each bud, covering it, unless it is so prominent that the 
cloth might injure it. The covering prevents undesired shoots before the 
union is firmly made. Two turns of the cloth are made below the bud, 
letting the end of the strip project between the two. The third turn is 
made above or over the bud, and after another turn or two, the job is fin- 
ished by twisting the ends together. Thus the cloth also sheds water from 
the bud. 

After the bud has started out well the cloth wrap is removed and 
the top of the stock cut off at a short distance above the bud. 
Suckers on the old stock should be continually looked for and 
removed. The tender shoot of the bud may be protected by tying 
to the stub, and when the growth of the bud has become strong 
enough to support itself, the old stock is smoothly sawn away above 
the bud and the wound covered with liquid drafting wax or paint. 

The care of budded trees in nursery is similar to that of the seed- 
lings of the previous year. If too great a tendency to branch low 
down is observed, the tips of the lower shoots should be pinched, 
but it is not desirable to under-prune much ; the retention of the 
lower branches thickens the stem. Sometimes a very rank growth 
on the bud will need a stake to strengthen it or to protect it from 
blowing out. The intrusion of gophers and other vermin should be 
resolutely and persistently guarded against. 

Working Over Old Trees. — Old orange trees can be transformed 
into improved varieties either by budding or grafting, as described 
at the close of Chapter IX, though re-working by grafting has been 
almost entirely superseded by budding. The common way to bud 
over an old tree is to cut back part of the branches and force out 
new shoots, the best of which are selected for budding and the 
others removed. Sometimes only a part of the tree is removed at 
first, and when the new buds have grown out on that, the other part 
is similarly treated. Others remove the whole top except a single 
low branch to maintain sap circulation until after the new buds 
start. 

Budding into old bark has been widely adopted as the quickest 
way to secure a new tree. As with working into old bark in other 
trees, it is necessary to take an older bud and a larger, thicker shield 
of bark behind it, than when budding into younger stock. Some 
remove the wood from the back of the shield, but generally it is not 
done. The following is an outline of practice approved by the Red- 
lands Horticultural Club : 

Keep the buds carefully in a damp cloth. Slide the bud upward, above 
the cross section. Bind around the bark, steering clear of the bud proper, 
a wrapping of waxed cloth, already prepared, three-fourths of an inch wide. 
When enough of this has been wrapped about the tree trunk or branch to 
keep the bark and bud in place, rub the end of the muslin strip with the 
handle of the budding knife, down upon the muslin already wound about 
the bark. This will hold the waxed wrapping firmly in place. From ten 



PLANTING ORANGE GROVES 373 

daj'S to two weeks after the buds have been inserted, cut off the entire top 
of the tree, above the buds, and cover the stump of trunk or large branch 
with grafting wax — applied hot — with a brush. 

As soon as the wax is put on — and it must be put on as soon as the top 
is sawed off — whitewash the tree, over the waxed cloth, also over the bud, 
over every part of the tree that is left, except the stump ends, to which the 
hot wax has been applied. Immediately the buds will begin to grow. 
From ten days to two weeks after whitewashing take ofT the muslin wrap, 
and, if the work has been done carefully in accordance with the above di- 
rections, 90 per cent of the buds will develop — perhaps more. A prime ne- 
cessity for this work is a razor-sharp budding knife. 

There is a variation in practice in cutting back the stock above 
the bud. Instead of cutting back at once, heroically, as just 
described, some girdle the branch or cut back part of the top at a 
distance above the bud, cutting down to the bud after it shows good 
strong growth, tying the young growth to the stub at first to protect 
it. Others insert the bud in the fall, cutting back to start the bud 
after the fruit on the old top is gathered. It is very important to 
watch for suckers below the bud and remove, to pinch them back, to 
make a bunch of leaves. The growth from the bud itself often needs 
pinching to induce low branching. Twig-budding can also be used 
on the orange by the method already described for the olive. 

Budding in old trees is best done in February and March, when 
the sap flow is strong, but, as stated, can be done in the fall and the 
bud allowed to lie dormant until spring. 



PLANTING ORANGES IN ORCHARD 

As already stated, orange trees are planted out at a greater age 
than deciduous fruit trees. Budded trees are given one or two 
years' growth in nursery and one or two years' growth on the bud, 
which, added to the year in seed bed, makes them three to four 
years of age from the sowing of the seed. Seedlings, to be planted 
out as such, are allowed two years' growth in the nursery, which 
makes them three years old from the seed. For this length of time 
and the unusual care involved in their growth, taking up from 
nursery and the preparation for carriage, orange trees of planting 
age are of much greater cost than deciduous fruit trees. 

Since the growing of seedlings for their fruit has practically 
ceased, the distance between the trees in orchard planting has 
ranged from twenty to twenty-four feet. All the varieties now 
propagated are quick to bear fruit, and if properly shaped will find 
ample space in these distances — the greater distance on the richer 
soil as a rule. 

Preparation of land for orange planting by deep and thorough 
cultivation and laying ofif to secure straight rows by the square, 
quincunx, and hexagonal methods have been quite fully discussed 
in Chapter X, and Chapter XI has suggestions for planting, many 
of which are applicable to the setting of orange trees. There are, 
however, special methods employed in lifting the orange trees from 
nursery rows and in placing them in permanent position, which will 
be outlined. 



374 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The orange, in common with other evergreen trees, is exceed- 
ingly sensitive to exposure of its roots, and for this reason the hand- 
ling of the young trees is very different from that of ordinary 
orchard trees. Three ways are employed for securing this constant 
moisture of the roots, as follows : 

Packing in Wet Straw. — As fast as the trees are lifted from the 
nursery ground by digging carefully so as to loosen and secure all 
the roots possible, they are packed in damp and partially rotten 
straw, proper receptacles being at hand so that the roots are not 
exposed by carrying them any distance. In taking up, all roots 
bruised by the spade are cleanly cut with a sharp knife. The tap- 
root is cut away at a depth of a foot or so from the surface. This 
use of wet straw, if faithfully carried out, will answer well in taking 
trees short distances for planting, but the use of a puddle on the 
roots before packing in damp straw gives additional assurance of 
success. Large shipments of trees have been made by packing roots 
in damp moss in specially made chests holding 100 to 125 trees. 
These chests have top and one side on hinges so that the roots can 
be thoroughly bedded in the moss as filling proceeds. The hinged 
side and top are then brought together and closed with hasp and 
staple. 

Puddling the Roots. — This method is also used for deciduous 
fruit trees, as mentioned in Chapter XL It consists in having a thin 
puddling of loamy soil with preponderance of sand rather than of 
clay, into which the roots are dipped as soon as the tree is lifted 
from the nursery. This mixture, which should be about as thick as 
cream, may be made in a hole in the ground, or, better still, in a box 
or cask large enough to allow complete plunging of the roots. As 
soon as dipped, and with all the mud which will adhere, the roots are 
packed in wet straw. If the trees are to remain thus packed for any 
length of time the greatest care must be observed to keep the straw 
damp, and water must be applied gently to avoid washing the 
puddle from the roots. 

Sacking the Roots with a Ball of Earth. — This is a very satis- 
factory way to move orange trees, and if it is well done, the tree 
does not wilt, and may be moved long distances and handled more 
freely than the puddled roots. To ball and sack trees, dig a trench 
along one side of the row about six inches away from the tree, and 
about a foot and a half deep. By careful digging under each tree 
from this trench the tap-root is reached, and severed by a cut with 
a sharp spade. The side roots are also cut by thrusting the spade 
down on the three sides not opened by the trench. The top earth 
is carefully removed nearly down to the highest lateral roots, and 
after being sure that the roots are severed all around, the tree is 
lifted out with the ball of earth which encloses the remaining roots. 
This ball is rounded ofif carefully and then placed on a half of a 
grain sack or other piece of burlap, the corners of which are drawn 
up and tied around the stem of the tree with baling rope. It is also 
an additional surety of safety to allow the baling rope to run under 
and around the ball to aid in holding it together. The balled trees 



PLANTING ORANGE TREES 375 

must be carefully handled so as not to break the ball, which would 
result in tearing to pieces, as well as exposing, the roots. 

The manner of handling the trees depends somewhat upon the 
character of the nursery soil. Successful balling, of course, requires 
a certain amount of adhesiveness in the soil. 

One can not be too careful in the handling of orange trees. 
Though they will stand harsh treatment when in permanent place, 
they must be most carefully transplanted. Lifting from the nursery 
when the soil is too dry, exposure of the roots, or careless planting, 
will consign the tree to a slow, sickly growth, and often kill it 
outright. 

Cutting Back at Transplanting. — The rule of reducing the top 
to compensate for the loss of roots, is vital in moving orange trees, 
but sometimes cutting back is carried too far and subsequent growth 
is checked rather than promoted. Some growers cut back the young 
trees a little while before lifting them from the nursery. Some take 
off all leaves after planting out, and claim that growth starts sooner 
and more strongly, but it is doubtful whether defoliation is advis- 
able, except in case of wilting, when it is necessary. 

Digging Holes and Setting Trees. — The same considerations 
which require extra care in lifting trees for nursery, rule in putting 
them in permanent place. All authorities on the subject specify 
exceptional care in preparing the tree holes as a profitable invest- 
ment on the part of the planter. Large and deep holes are com- 
mended, provided the planting is done in a deep, free soil. Deep 
holes would be more injurious than beneficial in a tight sub-soil, 
unless drainage were furnished, but there are good orange trees 
now bearing in such places — good enough at least to be an ornament 
and acceptable fruit producers for family use. 

On large-scale planting in deeply prepared soils, holes large 
enough to allow good spreading of the roots are sufficient. Hand- 
ling the soil at planting has been fully described in Chapter XI, and 
the importance of bringing the soil into firm contact with the roots 
has been urged. The use of water in planting citrus fruit trees is 
especially desirable. Transplanting should be done just as the 
growth is starting in the late spring or early summer, and this 
is! the opening of the dry season and rains can not be expected. 
Therefore, when the roots are arranged and the top soil lightly 
trampled around them, water is run in the hole and the earth com- 
pacted around the roots by water settling. After the water has 
settled away, the hole is filled and the surface left loose to prevent 
evaporation. 

These instructions apply to the planting out of trees which are 
taken up with long roots and puddled. In planting out balled trees, 
the sack is not removed, but after the tree is embedded in the earth, 
the tying rope is cut. The sack soon decays in the soil. 

Orange trees can be successfully transplanted at different times 
of the year, but the best time, as just stated, is after the ground gets 
well warmed by the spring sunshine. The date at which this con- 
dition arrives depends upon locality. Experience seems to indicate 



376 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

that the young orange tree is in best condition to transplant just as 
the new growth is starting out, and preferably when it has not 
grown out more than two inches. In setting the tree, it should 
stand not lower than in the nursery. Root injury is sometimes due 
to deep planting. 

Forcing the growth of trees with fertilizers should not be neces- 
sary in good soil but it has been done successfully. In planting the 
Arlington Heights orchards at Riverside, this method was followed : 

About a pound of dried blood was mixed with the earth when the tree 
was placed and the hole filled; then a deep furrow was plowed each side 
the row and at right angles to the direction in which the water would flow. 
For a short space near each tree these furrows were filled with manure 
and two pounds more of blood, then the furrow was back plowed to cover 
the manure. Thus for two years the young trees had food ready for the 
roots to lay hold on, and they made a record of bearing an average of 
three boxes of lemons per tree at three years from planting. 

Great care must be taken that transplanted orange trees do not 
become dry after planting. The methods of irrigation are described 
in Chapter XV. Good cultivation should also attend the orange 
from its first planting onward. This subject is fully discussed in 
Chapter XIII. 

PRUNING THE ORANGE 

All the considerations urged in Chapter XII in favor of low- 
headed and strongly branched trees apply to the orange, though 
the habit of the tree in growth and bearing requires different prun- 
ing policies. The orange tree is more disposed naturally to assume 
a good form than most other trees, and for this reason most exper- 
ienced growers declare their belief in pruning as little as possible. 
This is unquestionably good policy providing attention enough is 
given to securing a shapely and convenient tree, and to overcome 
the tendency in the young tree to run out very long shoots which 
result later in unsymmetrical shoulders with hollows beneath them 
and obviate a weeping habit, which interferes with irrigation and 
prevents the development of good bearing space above. It is so easy 
to bring the orange tree into good form by a little hard thinking 
about what shape is desirable and a little timely cutting and pinch- 
ing to secure it. 

It has long been held that the orange tree should assume a com- 
pact wall of foliage, the interior of the tree being considered merely 
the framework to support this and pump sap into it. Recently the 
importance of removing dead wood from the center of the tree is 
being urged, even though the cost is considerable, and a rational 
thinning of branches to admit light and air in sufficient amount to 
secure good fruit near the center of the tree is also being advocated 
and practiced to some extent. All these progressive tendencies 
carry the orange nearer to the application of the principles of prun- 
ing which are discussed in detail in Chapter XII, including the 
rational recourse to more severe pruning or cutting back to induce a 
growth of new and stronger wood for subsequent bearing. In other 
cases cutting back of varieties inclined to make a rank wood growth, 



PRUNING ORANGE TREES 377 

like the Valencia Late to encourage a better supply of fruiting wood, 
is being advocated. It seems clear that there are important ends to 
be gained by more pruning of the orange tree, and by earnest think- 
ing and close observation along this line. 

It has been held that it was necessary to prune the young tree 
to quite a high head at first to allow for the natural droop of the 
branches and the result is seen in many young trees with slim stems 
and umbrella-like tops. It is better to develop a stout stem by 
allowing for a time a low growth upon it and then raise it later by 
removal of the lower growth which has done good service and out- 
lived its usefulness. By wise under-pruning it is possible not only 
to secure a shapely and convenient tree but also to train the lower 
growth so that it shall present good, low bearing wood without 
groveling in the dust. 

Unquestionably the drooping habit of budded orange trees is 
largely due to their treatment. A grower who does not believe in 
pruning allows the branches to extend too far horizontally, and the 
weight of the foliage and the early fruiting bring the branches to 
the ground. To relieve the lower branches of the young tree of a 
part of this weight will enable them to assume a better direction, 
and this slight relief at first will prevent much branch-sawing in 
later years. The young tree as it comes from the nursery usually 
starts upon an upright course. If stopped at about three feet it 
can be led to develop strong and well-arranged branches, with 
proper spacing between them to prevent too many main branches, 
much as has been described for deciduous fruit trees in Chapter 
XII. The adjacent engraving, Fig. 1, shows a young tree in plant- 
ing condition, stopped at three feet and needing only a slight cutting 
back of the laterals to be ready to begin its orchard life. If young 
trees are transplanted short distances and at the right time they 
do not need so much cutting back as is commonly given them. If 
allowed to grow from the start shown in Fig. 1, pruning only to 
prevent long branches from running out at random, and removing 
branches which may start strongly from near the base, the tree will 
assume the branch-form shown in Fig. 2 and at from two to three 
years after planting in the orchard. At about this age the removal 
of lower branches begins, as they have served their purpose in 
shading the trunk and bearing the first fruit. These branches are 
removed one by one until, when the tree is five years in the orchard, 
it has lost all branches below the two-foot line. The higher branches 
assume the more horizonal habit, too great out-shooting is re- 
pressed, and at about five years orchard-age the tree attains a height 
of about twelve feet and is of the general form shown in Fig. 3, 
The next few months will bring its foliage to the ground to remain 
there or to be under-trimmed, as the notion of the grower may be. 

BUILDING DOWN AND NOT SAGGING DOWN 

It is perfectly feasible and rational to secure a good form of low 
tree without removal of large branches and without relying upon 
the sag of the branches from a high head. It requires rather more 



378 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 




Fig. 1. Orange tree at planting Fig. 2. Branch form of orange before 
in orchard. Three feet high. removing lower branches. 





Fig. 3. Good form of five-year-old 
orange tree. 



Good form secured by training. 



DEVELOPING FORM IN ORANGE TREES 



379 



watchfulness and attention and study of the subject than some 
growers desire to give, but the results when attained are very satis- 
factory. The method is that of J. H. Reed, of Riverside, and has 
been followed by him for a number of years with his own orchard 
and others of which he has had charge. It will be found readily 
intelligible with the help of the sketches. Mr. Reed would begin 
with a young nursery tree like that already shown in Fig. 1. He 
does not believe in much cutting back before planting providing a 
fair amount of roots are left in the ball at transplanting. If the 
tree has been properly planted and cared for, it will soon begin to 
put out new growth, usually first along the stem, the strongest 
growth being lowest down. As many of these young branches 
along the stem as are not desired for permanent branches, are rubbed 
off, the earlier the better, at least before woody fiber is deposited 
in them. Mr. Reed rubs off promptly all below a point about two 
feet from the ground, if there is a prospect of getting sufficient 
good branches above that point. If not he saves them down to 
eight or even twelve inches lower if need be. 

Mr. Reed's idea is to build the head along a considerable length 
of the trunk and not have the branches bunched at the top, and this 
is the same idea that is urged in the development of the trunk of 
the deciduous fruit tree in Chapter XII. He finds it impossible to 
do this in the nursery because if it is attempted to form a head 18 
oi\' 24 inches along the upper portion of the stem instead of one 
bunched near the top of it, the lower branches will appropriate 
most of the sap and the upper portion will not be well developed ; 
while if this upper story is well established in the nursery the lower 
portion can be built on without detriment to the upper, if nutriment 
sufficient for both is furnished. Fig. 4 will show approximately 




Fig. 4. Branch form of orange six months 
after planting. 



380 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



the branch-form of the young tree at about six months from plant- 
ing and the shoots with which the building-down is begun. The 
first step is to check the drooping habit. Upon this point Mr. Reed 
says : 

The common notion that the branch of the Navel orange naturally tends 
down is a mistake which grows out of the fact that in its rapid growth the 
new part of the stems and large leaves are so loaded with sap that they 
pull the stems from their natural upright position, and, unless relieved, 
hold them there till the deposit of woody fiber fixes the branches in the 
drooping or unnatural position. If the tips of these rapidly growing branches, 
with their heavy leaves, be clipped at the right time, the branches will spring 
back to the erect position, where they will remain to send out new branches. 
It is wonderful how the orange tree can be molded like a thing of wax 
by pinching and clipping here and there, if done at the right time. 

Fig. 5 shows the result of this clipping of heavy shoots to allow 
them to assume a more upright growth and the encouragement of 
new shoots below the two-foot mark. Fig. 6 gives the branch form 
of a five-year-old tree, with its lower story of bearing wood well 
developed, and Fig. 7 is the foliage-form of the same tree, about 
fifteen feet high, with its leaves and fruit reaching to the ground. 
As to how low the branches should be allowed, Mr. Reed says that 
until recently he has thought it best to keep the lower branches 
clipped back so that the fruit would not touch the ground, but he 
is persuaded that it is better to let them come to the ground even 
if considerable fruit rests on it. He finds that many of the best 
orchardists do this, and claim that there are really less culls among 
the fruit on the ground than on the less-protected branches above. 

Later Pruning of the Orange. — After the form of the orange is 
well established the aim should be to preserve a compact, sym- 
metrical and convenient form. It is desirable that weak wood 
should be removed ; dead interior branches, which have given up 
the struggle for the light, should also be removed. It is an ap- 
palling undertaking to get into the inside of an old orange tree and 
saw off and drag out the dead wood, but, as already stated, the 
conviction is growing that this should be done. Of the growing 
shoots there is a reasonable amount of thinning to be done. The 
clipping back of ambitious shoots multiplies laterals. There should 
be a good; cover of leaves, but the crowding of leaves on leaves 
excludes light and air and weakens the tree by lessening the vigor 
of leaf action. Dead twigs which appear among good bearing shoots 
should always be removed. 

The gourmand shoots or suckers should usually be repressed, 
unless, by clipping, one can be turned into a branch where a branch 
is needed. The importance of removing sucker grow^ths when in- 
capable of thus being rendered useful is being recognized as a fixed 
policy in pruning, although there are dissenters who contend for 
the desirability of using suckers more freely for the sake of renew- 
ing the bearing wood of the tree continually by training new 
branches from suckers. On the other hand, the anti-suckers claim 
that good trees have been diverted from bearing fruit of good type to 
that which is in all respects inferior, by allowing supremacy to 




381 



Fig. 5. Tendency of clipped branches to 



nse. 




%^^^' 




Kg. 6. B"-" form of five-year-old Fig. 7. Foliage form of five 



tree built down. 



tree. 



year-old 



382 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

sucker-growths. Probably there is truth on both sides of the con- 
troversy. Growth of new fruit wood from old is desirable, and 
suckers from stem or main branches, showing the marks of wild 
growth should be repressed — but perhaps it is more rational to 
study how to use the outbreaks of the tree toward freedom than to 
make a rule for their thoughtless extirpation. 

PRUNING FOR CONTINUOUS RENEWAL 

As to the pruning of bearing orange trees there are among 
California growers irreconcilable views and conflicting practices 
which defy reduction to suggestions of universal application. It 
seems as clearly impossible to prescribe rules for pruning the orange 
as for other fruit trees. Evidently the grower must observe closely 
and think hard about what he sees. A very rational outline of the 
subject was recently prepared by Mr. J. B. Neff of Anaheim as 
follows : 

Pruning is as necessary to success in growing oranges as with other 
fruits, and if altogether neglected the crop will be disappointing though 
other care has been given. Oranges which bring the highest prices do not 
grow on trees which have small leaves and slender twigs, neither do young 
and abnormally vigorous trees have smooth fruit, hence we must have the 
medium, and this can be brought about by judicious pruning. If we take 
a tree having small leaves and small twigs we find it will bloom profusely 
but that too many of the blossoms will fall and that the remaining small 
fruits will drop badly until but a light crop is left and these are of small 
sizes. By pruning out sufficient of the old growth the new wood will be 
larger and the leaves will grow larger, which in turn will produce larger 
and better fruit. Small leaves and fine fruit are not found on the same 
branch. 

It is difficult to give detailed instructions as to the amount taken out as 
each tree requires treatment in some manner different from its neighbor, 
but observation of the trees in the orchard will soon teach the grower to 
take out the proper amount to produce the desired sizes. 

The pruning of Valencia orange trees is often neglected because there 
are always oranges on the trees and the grower dislikes to take any off 
without selling them, so the pruning is limited to the dead branches while 
the pruning should be such as to keep the branches from dying. Pruning 
of Navel orange trees should be done as soon as the fruit is gathered, while 
Valencia orange trees should be pruned in May or early in June when the 
fruit which is cut ofif in pruning can be sold. 

The openings made by pruning should not be so large that sucker 
growth will form in such spaces. This growth will need much watching 
and pinching of tips to prevent unduly long branches which do not pro- 
duce fruit. If large branches must come out use a sharp fine-toothed saw. 
Cut close to the body or main branch so the wound will heal quickly, and 
cover with mineral paint. 

The most profitable form of an orange tree is that of a deeply corru- 
gated column, though not always attainable. This allows light to reach the 
interior of the tree and furnishes the largest possible fruiting surface on 
the outer part of the tree. When the corrugated form can not be produced 
to the full height of the tree, smaller openings can be made by cutting out 
branches which start two or three feet back from the outside of the tree. 

Mr. Neff's plan of maintaining vigor in bearing trees by 
systematic pruning thus consists in treatment of the exterior of 
the tree so that it shall not show a smooth wall of foliage but corru- 
gations more or less vertical — these upright valleys or cuts illumi- 



CALIFORNIA ORANGE VARIETIES 383 

nating their own sides and carrying light toward the center of the 
tree also. Thus one can get a much greater surface of adequately 
lighted bearing wood. Prof, C. S. Paine of Redlands aims to secure 
the same result by operating upon the interior of the tree in this 
way: 

By cutting out from the top of the tree several larger branches at their 
junction with the trunk of other branches, there is left an open space in 
the tree top which may be likened to an inverted cone or a deep basin. In 
old trees the topmost limbs lose vital force sooner than limbs issuing 
nearer the ground; thus, the loss to the tree of such limbs is of less mo- 
ment than elsewhere. After opening the top growth renewal took place 
on the exposed parts of the trunks and limbs around the basin and new 
growth issues not alone from the new bark, but also from the under sides 
of the twigs and branches of the limbs below, which become fruit bearers. 

Both these methods of opening from the sides and from the top 
are more rational and less heroic than cutting back the tree to 
stubs and renewing the whole top. In fact it is believed that such 
loss can be avoided by systematic pruning which will induce the 
tree to keep continually renewing itself while fruit-bearing. 



PRUNING FROZEN TREES 

The widespread freezing of citrus trees which occurred in Jan- 
uary, 1913, demonstrated that the orange tree is hardier against a 
drop of the mercury to 12 or 15 degrees Fahr. than any Californian 
supposed. Very few trees were seriously frozen, though very many 
lost good fruiting wood, even with the temperature lower than has 
been experienced for sixty years, and the crop gathered in 1914 
demonstrated the quick recovery of the trees. Policies in the 
pruning of frozen trees and in treatment of rare injuries like bark- 
splitting, were carefully studied through field studies and actual 
tests, by the citrus experts of the California Experiment Station, 
and it was shown that pruning should not be undertaken for several 
months or until the tree demonstrated useless parts to be removed. 



DISEASES OF THE ORANGE 

Citrus fruit trees are subject to many insect pests and diseases, 
and though we may not have the worst the world knows we have 
enough to keep many experts continually busy investigating and 
prescribing for them. The California Experiment Station at 
Berkeley has made many publications on these subjects and is 
always ready to identify suspected specimens and to give detailed 
information. The subject is too wide and varied to be discussed 
in this connection. 

VARIETIES OF THE ORANGE 

Though many varieties of the orange have been introduced in 
California, but few are largely grown. During the last twenty 
years there has been a pervading disposition to concentrate upon 



384 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

the Washington Navel, and, except to get other varieties either 
earlier or later to extend the season, there seems little reason to go 
beyond the Navel for commercial purposes. The Valencia, which 
stands next to the Navel but afar below it, is grown because its 
late ripening makes it profitable after the Navel crop is marketed. 
Not only have recent plantings been largely of this variety, but old 
trees of other kinds have been budded over to it. 

As already claimed in the opening pages of this chapter, the 
Washington Navel is the greatest commercial orange in the world. 
As it goes from California into the world's commerce it is a com- 
bined product of grower's skill and climatic conditions operating 
upon its own natural qualities and characters. Neither of these 
factors alone could achieve its present position. The navel mark 
is neither peculiar to it nor determinative of it, for there are other 
navels which are inferior here and our navel is inferior elsewhere ; 
and even in Bahia, whence it came, it has no such quality and 
standing, because in coming to California it passed from humid, 
tropical to arid, semi-tropical environment, as already suggested. 

Although California has apparently no need for changes of type 
in oranges and has worked diligently and long for the attainment 
of the types which are at present supreme in her industry, there is 
still opportunity for improvement within the types. Such improve- 
ment is probably to be attained not by hybridizing, but by selection. 
The Washington Navel, like other members of the citrus family, is 
keenly disposed to variation, and some of its variations have been 
named and propagated as the lists below will show, but variations 
appear as degradations as well as improvements. The pursuit of 
such and other improvements, and their opposites also, is now being 
systematically taken up at the Citrus Experiment Station at River- 
side, which is a branch of the University of California Experiment 
Station at Berkeley, and by the Bureau of Plant Industry of the 
United States Department of Agriculture, by Mr. A. D. Shamel, as 
already indicated in connection with the discussion of budding the 
orange. 

The shipping season of each of the orange varieties grown in 
California is as follows : Washington Navels, in November and 
December from Northern and Central California and from Decem- 
ber to June in Southern California ; Valencias, from June to Octo- 
ber inclusive ; Seedlings, from March to July inclusive ; Mediter- 
ranean Sweets, from March to July inclusive. 

DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 

Washington Navel (Bahia, Riverside Navel). — Fruit large, solid, and 
heavy, skin smooth and of a very fine texture; very juicy; highly flavored, 
with melting pulp; is practically seedless, only in exceptional cases are seed 
found; tree is a good and prolific bearer, medium thorny, a rapid grower, 
although it does not attain a very large size; bears when very young, com- 
mencing to bear as early as one year old from the bud; ripens early. This 
variety was imported from Bahia, Brazil, in 1870, by Mr. W. Sanders, of the 
Department of Agriculture at Washington, and in 1874 two trees were re- 
ceived from Washington by Mrs. Tibbetts, of Riverside, Cal. Trees were 




Piate XII. — View in bearing orange orchard. — (J-iee page 339.; 




Plate XIII.— The Mammoth Blackberry.— (See page 410.) 



CALIFORNIA ORANGE VARIETIES 335 

also received about the same time by Alexander Craw, but the Riverside 
trees were first in fruit, and the excellence of the variety being at once 
recognized, it was propagated rapidly and took the name Riverside Navel 
from the place where its characteristics were first made known. As it came 
to be largely grown in other districts as well, a broader name, Washington 
Navel, recognizing its receipt from the national capital, was adopted. 

There is much tendency to variation in the Washington Navel, and sub- 
varieties are to be found involving departures in the direction of thinness 
and silkiness of rind, etc., as well as interior changes. The first to be- 
come prominent of these is Thomson's Improved Navel, which A. C. 
Thomson, of Duarte, Los Angeles County, claimed to have produced by a 
process of propagation, but which is believed to be a natural variation. It 
is a very refined fruit; generally held to be too fine for ordinary handling, 
and not otherwise superior to the Washington Navel. 

Golden Buckeye Navel. — Introudced by Mr. R. M. Teague, San Dimas. 
Young wood, slender but strong; tree of striking appearance; fruit marked 
with bands of deeper color, skin very smooth; pulp aromatic with sugges- 
tion of pineapple flavor. 

Golden Nugget Navel. — Also by R. M. Teague. Young wood willowy and 
slender, tree umbrageous; fruit smooth, solid, thin-skinned, rather oblong 
and good size, rich golden color; pulp free from rag, and delicious; said to 
average larger than common Washington. 

Navelencia. — Another navel variation held to be a cross with Valencia 
by Thomson. Resembling Navel but more drawn out at the stem end. 
Large, handsome and later than Navel. 

Australian Navel. — A coarser type of the Navel introduced from Aus- 
tralia in 1874 by Lewis Wolfskill of Los Angeles, and largely propagated 
formerly. It has now been practically abandoned for the Washington Navel. 
It seems to be of more account at some points in the San Joaquin Valley 
than elsewhere. Recently held to be undistinguishable from inferior types 
produced by sucker growths on Washington Navel trees. 

Jaffa. — A variety introduced in early years but largely discarded. It has 
recently been propagated in the San Joaquin district, where it has shown 
desirable characteristics. Resembles Valencia. Late but is earlier in ripen- 
ing — following the Navel. 

Valencia Late (Hart's Tardiflf). — Medium size, oblong, pale yellow, flesh 
rich, deep yellow, sprightly and crisp; tree a strong grower, slightly thorny. 
Ripens late and valuable for late shipping. 

Malta Blood. — Fruit small to medium, oval; flesh fine texture and flavor, 
streaked and mottled with red; few seeds. The tree is thornless and regu- 
lar and heavy bearer. 

Ruby. — Medium size, roundish; when ripe often reddened by deep red 
pulp within; juicy and sprightly, often rather acid; tree vigorous, thornless 
and a good bearer. 

Mediterranean Sweet. — Fruit medium to large, pulp and skin of fine tex- 
ture, very solid and few seeds; ripens late, often not until May or June, 
The tree is thornless and of dwarf habit of growth, and is inclined to over- 
bear. It was at one time the most widely-distributed variety in the State, 
next to the Washington Navel, but has recently been largely budded over. 
It was introduced and named by T. A. Garey, of Los Angeles. 

Paper Rind St. Michael. — Fruit small, round, very firm and very juicy; 
pale, thin skin; very elegant in appearance. It ripens late and keeps well 
on the trees as late as August; tree is of dwarf habit, medium thorny, a 
good bearer and very desirable. 

Kumquat (Citrus Japonica). — Fruit very small, oblong or olive shaped, 
rind thick, yellow, smooth; sweet-scented; very little pulp; containing many 
seeds; tree dwarf (a bush), a prolific bearer. Chiefly used for conserves. 

Dancy's Tangerine, or Kid Glove. — Leaves broad, fruit flat, small to me- 
dium, reddish; skin separating readily from the pulp; flesh juicy and aro- 
matic. 



386 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Satsuma. (Unshiu Oonshiu.)— A considerable acreage of this variety, 
planted ten years ago on dwarfing stock, has availed very little commer- 
cially At present there is disposition to grow the variety on sweet orange 
stock' because of its earliness, but this practice has been recently con- 
demned by Florida experience, where it is held it must be grown on the tri- 
folicata root. Tree quite hardy, fruit irregular in size, but usually medium 
size, flattened; rind easily detached; fine texture, sweet and nearly seedless. 

Mandarin, Willow-Leaved.— Medium sized, flattened, deep yellow; flesh 
dark orange, skin loose; tree compact, ornamental. 

King.— Of the Mandarin class; large, rough-skinned, skin and segments 
loose, pulp high flavored, sweet, aromatic. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

THE GRAPE FRUIT OR POMELO IN CALIFORNIA 

This citrus fruit achieved a very sudden interest in California 
because of the prices commanded by Florida pomeloes about twenty- 
five years ago. When this supply of Eastern cities was cut off by 
the serious frost injuries in Florida in 1895 there arose a passion 
for planting the trees in California, and a considerable acreage was 
planted, and as the tree is a very rapid grower and precocious in 
fruit-bearing, large shipments were made in 1898, but the results 
were not satisfactory, and since that time, although pomeloes some- 
times sell to good advantage, the demand is on the whole light and 
irregular. The local consumption of pomeloes in California is in- 
creasing, but does not warrant much acreage. For these reasons 
early plantings were largely grafted over to the orange. 

Within the last decade Florida regained her grape-fruit leader- 
ship and has produced such quantities that recourse to juice-making 
seems necessary to realize profit on the surplus — even though the 
type of grape fruit produced in Florida gives her the preference 
in the fresh fruit markets of the country during its season. Cali- 
fornia has however recently demonstrated a possibility of selling 
to advantage before and after the Florida season and this has re- 
awakened local interest in production. The California State Board 
of Equalization reports 143,423 grape fruit trees in bearing in the 
spring of 1920 and 149,802 trees below bearing age — more than one- 
fourth of the latter being located in Imperial County, where the fruit 
matures very early and fruit is sweeter than is commonly found, 
the bitter less pronounced, the rag tender, and altogether as desir- 
able to eat without sugar as the average orange. Confidence that 
such fruit ripening very early may steal a march on the Florida 
product is the secret of the large planting which has been indicated. 
On the other hand it has been demonstrated that holding the fruit 
on the trees in the later citrus districts not only improves its quality 
but brings it on sale after the Florida crop is disposed of and gives 
the grower an advantage similar to that realized by growers of the 
Valencia orange, who get high prices after the Navels are out of 
the way. 

Justification of the renewed interest in the grape fruit is also 
found in the fact that fruit of much finer points than the common 
California product can be had by selection of better varieties which 
are to be found in California orchards and propagating exclusively 
such selections. Mr. A. D. Shamel, whose work with the orange 
has been cited in the preceding chapter, believes that he has found 
a strain of Marsh's Seedless which is of dependable superiority, 
and is now being largely propagated. It thus appears that though 
the grape fruit has been of such little importance that it has been 
considered almost negligible, it has problems the solution of which 
may make it great. 



388 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



SHALL IT BE "GRAPEFRUIT" OR "POMELO"? 



Grapefruit is the accepted American commercial name for the 
fruit and an accepted commercial name is too valuable to disre- 
gard. The last report of the manager of the California Fruit Grow- 
ers' Exchange, our great citrus marketing organization, makes 
several references to grapefruit and does not use the name pomelo 
at all. Dr. W. T. Swingle points out in the Standard Encyclopedia 
of Horticulture that "pomelo" and "pummelo" are contractions of 
the Dutch "pompelmoes" and cover nearly all fruits of citrus 
grandis, and he advices that we use it in this generic sense and 
apply it to all the species of the genus except the grapefruit group, 
which he holds to be distinct enough from the others to merit a 
separate name. It is therefore likely that we shall hencefonh use 
the term grapefruit in California because pomelo means too much 
in a botanical sense and too little in a commercial way. 

CULTURE AND PRUNING OF THE GRAPEFRUIT 

The grapefruit is so like the orange that its propagation, plant- 
ing, shaping the trees, and general culture thereof are almost iden- 
tical with the same acts for the orange, as detailed in the preceding 
chapter. The treatment of bearing trees to insure continuous thrift 
and the restoration of them after neglect and over-bearing are 
practically the same. The following specific suggestions for prun- 
ing the mature grapefruit tree, which are drawn from the practice 
of Mr. Herman Brussow of Whittier, as applied to grapefruit trees 
of Mr. Louis Farnsworth in the Imperial Valley, are also pertinent 
to the treatment of the old orange tree : 

Grapefruit trees like Valencia oranges tend to bear heavily in alternate 
years. Prune while the trees are dormant in the winter before an oflf year. 
Go over a tree systematically three times. Where limbs are low, creep 
under on your knees, and saw out enough to give the remainder good 
clearance from the ground, and take out everything low in the crotches. 
Inside fruit wood to be left above will hang down in this space later. It 
is necessary to leave enough clearance for circulation of air under the 
tree and to cultivate closely so the ground will not sour. 

The second time over the tree is pruned with long-handled clippers, 
also inside, and clearing out the low brush so you can stand up. Don't 
take out limbs that would leave holes in the side of the tree. Where it is 
a question which of two crowding limbs comes out, take the lower. Prune 
out all dead and crossing wood. Do not leave any twigs which would hang 
on the ground with fruit on. Leafless twigs of fruit wood will have leaves 
and flowers shortly after irrigation, within a month, along in February here 
in Imperial. Don't cut them out, thinking they are dead. 

Standing up for the last of the second inside pruning, you can locate the 
limbs that should still be cut much better than from the outside, though the 
third time over the tree will be from the outside. 

Where much is being taken from the tree anyhow, leave all possible, 
to be pruned two years hence, to avoid too much shock by removal of 
leaves. Where it is a question whether to leave twigs under or on top of a 
limb, leave those on top, to grow upward so they may replace the end 
brush of that limb when it shall be taken of? in the future. 

It is better to cut two branches of a limb oflf in two different cuts than 
in one, because quite often in making the first cut the "picture develops" and 
shows the remaining branch to be needed on the tree. 



GRAPEFRUIT VARIETIES 



389 



Suckers should never be sawed or clipped out when they are soft 
enough to be pulled out. Neither should they be pulled out by pulling in 
one direction, because that makes an ugly break in the bark. While pull- 
ing gently the sucker should be worked back and forth so as to crack the 
bark all around and then pulled off. If a sucker is cut ofif it is likely that 
four times as many suckers will start. 

Varieties. — The following comprise about the only varieties 
grown in this State: 

Standard Marsh Seedless. — The trees produce large and regular crops. 
The fruits have a slightly flattened shape. Ripe fruits very smooth, satin- 
like, ivory white color, thin rind, from nine to ten seeds each, being com- 
mercially seedless. The rag is tender, having a slightly bitter taste, which 
is pleasant and agreeable. The fruits have an abundance of juice that spurts 
from the fruit when they are cut. The juice possesses the desired and typical 
grapefruit quality, a highly developed pleasing flavor that is only equaled 
amongst California citrus fruits, in the opinion of the writer, by the fine 
flavor of the Washington Navel orange. This type is worthy of a separate 
varietal name in that it has been successfully isolated in California by bud 
selection and is being extensively propagated by California citrus growers. 
— A. D. Shamel. 

This type is commended for exclusive propagation by the Grape Fruit 
Club of California. Selections of Marsh Seedless are also being made by 
leading propagators, some preferring lemon yellow as a skin color. 

Nectar. — A Florida seedling, grown at Duarte, flat-round, heavy; peel 
smooth and bright, pale-lemon color; oil cells small and numerous; flesh 
dense, firm texture, abundant juice, vinous, excellent, bitter-sweet element 
distinct; few seeds and little rag; sizes from 42 to 80 to the box. Grown 
by A. P. Griffith of Azusa. 

Imperial. — Medium to large, peel very smooth, medium thin and of fine 
texture; little rag, juice abundant, fine aromatic flavor, good keeper and 
shipper. Tree upright and heavy bearer. 

Triumph. — Aledium size, peel smooth, clear, thin and fine grained; very 
juicy, heavy and good flavored; juice free from bitterness; very little rag; 
an early and prolific bearer, 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

THE LEMON, LIME AND CITRON 

Lemon growing is a very unique and distinctive branch of Cali- 
fornia horticulture, which in the present advancement of culture 
and preparation for the market well illustrates the originality and 
invention which the California fruit grower has displayed in his 
undertakings. Lemon growing in California is old because it rose 
at the old missions in the second century back of us, but successful 
lemon growing as a great industry is new and constantly assuming 
new phases. For the old seedling lemons were bad, and though 
enterprising growers soon learned that fact and set about getting 
better ones, it took years to secure them and to learn how to grow 
and handle them so that the CaHfornian could compete with the 
Sicilian fruit in the markets of the United States. Nor was time 
the only thing sacrificed — hundreds of thousands of dollars were 
lost before the California grower could put upon the market a good 
lemon, fit to stay good for a sufficient length of time. Unprofitable 
plantings ; expensive curing houses, which did not cure well ; count- 
less experiments which yielded only loss and disappointment — all 
these are wrecks upon the rock of American lemon growing. And 
that is equivalent to saying California lemon growing, for there 
are no lemons commercially produced elsewhere in this country. 

Naturally Californians sought first to know how lemons were 
grown and handled abroad. At cost of great effort and outlay they 
learned practically nothing that they could do and a great deal that 
it was not necessary to do. Then they assumed a more rational 
mood — a disposition to discern what principles are involved in the 
problem, and to apply them in their own way according to con- 
ditions locally prevaihng. Along this Hne grand success has been 
attained by a few masterful men conducting large lemon enter- 
prises or smaller undertakings of their own, while the mass of 
lemon planters, for one reason or another, have never reaped the 
reward they expected. On the whole, it may be said that lemon 
growing is a much harder and more exacting enterprise than orange 
growing, and for this reason many have new-topped their trees to 
oranges and thus escaped difficulties which they could not over- 
come. 

With the aid of the protective tariff the most resolute and 
capable have attained success, and the California lemon became 
known and highly esteemed upon its merits everywhere. The tariff 
has somewhat offset cheap labor in Italy and cheap water transpor- 
tation from the Mediterranean region, and our lemons could some- 
times compete with the foreign product not only in the West but 
even in the cities of the Atlantic seaboard. All this has been ac- 
complished within two decades and it is a notable result. But the 
California contention that the lemon should be encouraged with 



REQUIREMENTS OF THE LEMON 391 

increased protection to enable producers to push the issue of an 
American lemon for Americans to a successful termination, was 
rejected by the tariff of 1913. This danger to American production 
was temporarily averted by the war, but must now be guarded 
against anew. Whether the lemon can weather the storms of all 
kinds which buffet it remains to be demonstrated. 

The vicissitudes in California lemon production can hardly be 
more forcibly set forth than by the following figures by the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture : 

Boxes Produced Farm Value 

1918 3,667,000 $ 9,167,000 

1919 6,551,657 18,999,810 

1920 4,500,000 2,700,000 

Thus the fruit passed from profit to loss in succeeding years — 
the latter being due to the inrush of foreign fruit under the low 
tariff of 1913 and to the increase of overland freight rates during 
1920 — both of which were to the advantage of importers. 

The best pack of California lemons has a uniformity of size, a 
finish of skin, a juiciness and keen acidity which are unrivaled in 
the world. Numerous careful tests have been made of the CaHfornia 
lemon in Atlantic cities in comparison with the best south Euro- 
pean product, and the superiority of the American fruit has thus 
been demonstrated. 

SITUATIONS AND SOILS FOR THE LEMON 

The lemon does best in a practically frostless situation. Such 
places are found in largest area in the southern half of the coast 
regions of California, but also exist at favoring elevations in the 
interior. The moderating influence of proximity to salt water, and 
the effect of local topography and environment, which give frost- 
free nooks or belts, are elements favoring the lemon grower. In 
such situations the lemon blooms and fruits continuously through- 
out the year. 

While the lemon requires a less extreme of low temperature 
than the orange, it also thrives with a less extreme of high tempera- 
ture and less duration of it. It apparently does not require as much 
heat to develop acid, which is the charm of the lemon, as it does 
sugar, which is essential to an acceptable orange ; therefore a coast 
situation which may not yield a sweet orange may produce a good 
lemon, although it is a fact that in the southern coast region, where 
the largest commercial production of lemons is now achieved, the 
orange also does well. Another advantage of the lower summer 
temperature is that the continuous ripening is not interfered with, 
as it is by high summer heat, which hastens maturity and brings 
the mass of the fruit to marketable condition in the winter — a sea- 
son when the demand for the lemon is very small. This objection 
is, however, being measurably overcome by the proper storage and 
treatment of the fruit for sale, at a considerable interval after pick- 
ing, as will be mentioned presently. But both the curing and stor- 



392 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

age of lemons are more easily secured in the more equable tempera- 
ture and moister air of the coast region. 

The lemon delights in a sandy loam, and probably our best or- 
chards are on such soil, but the trees thrive in other soils. There is 
a difference of opinion among growers as to what soil is to be 
especially sought for. There are profitable lemon orchards in 
Southern California located upon deep clay loams, and even upon 
strong red clay soils. As with some other fruits, the choice of soil 
is, to a certain extent, governed by the stock on which the lemon 
is worked, for it is no longer grown upon a lemon root as it was 
in early days in California. 



. PROPAGATING AND PLANTING 

The prevailing stock for the lemon is the orange seedling, either 
the sweet or sour stock, under the same conditions that each is pre- 
ferred for the orange, the sour stock resisting measurably the effects 
of ill-drainage of heavy land or flat, low places. The orange root 
thrives on a greater variety of soils than the lemon, and produces 
a healthy lemon tree where the lemon on its own root would fail. 
The growth of orange seedlings for budding has been described in 
Chapter XXXII. If lemon seedlings should be desired they may 
be grown in the same way. Plants either for permanent growth 
or for stocks for budding can be grown from cuttings, as explained 
in Chapter VIII. The budding of the lemon is practically the same 
as of the orange, which has been described. An old tree can be 
changed from one variety to another by the methods described for 
the orange, and oranges can be worked into old lemon trees and 
good fruit secured if the lemon tree is thrifty and growing upon an 
orange root. Such working of old lemon trees is not always profit- 
able and replanting would often be better. 

Planting of the lemon is the same as that of the orange. The 
distance in planting varies from twenty to twent3^-five feet. Irriga- 
tion of lemon and orange trees is also similar. 



PRUNING THE LEMON 

The pruning of the lemon is essentially different from that of 
the orange, because the habit of the tree is different. The lemon 
requires constant attention to bring it into good bearing form and 
keep it there ; the orange, after it is well shaped, simply needs 
attention to encourage it to retain the bearing form to which it 
seems naturally disposed. The orange largely provides itself with 
satisfactory bearing wood ; the lemon devotes itself, even when it 
is old enough to know better, to a rangy rambling wood growth 
with bearing wood upon the ends of willowy rods where it is swept 
about in the wind and burned in the sun, instead of nestling it 
neatly among the leaves as the orange does. 

The rational proceeding with the lemon is, then, to develop it 
at first into a low, stocky and strong form, such as is described in 



PRUNING THE LEMON 



393 



Chapter XII for deciduous trees. This may be secured by pinching 
so as not to allow running out of long branches at first, or it may 
be secured by severe cutting back of the long growths of the young 
tree. In either case low branches will be secured. Make good 
selections from these branches to form a symmetrical tree and cut 
back the growth which comes upon them to cause it to branch in 
its turn. In this way plenty of good, strong wood is secured low 
down, and with short distances between the laterals. Strong, up- 
right shoots (usually called "suckers") which break out at points 
where branches are not desired, should be rubbed off or cleanly 
cut away. Having secured about the right branching in about the 
right places no strong sprouts should be allowed, and the tree should 
be encouraged to make smaller laterals, which will be the bearing 
wood. It must be admitted, however, that this rational plan of 
restricting wood growth and directing the energies of the tree to 
fruit has in some cases been pursued too far and the tree has re- 
sented repression by diminished thrift. The pruner must allow 
freer growth of shoot to secure better foliage. The pruning of the 
lemon as of other trees must always be pursued with judgment 
rather than by recipe. 

When the adequate growth of bearing wood within reach is 
borne in mind it appears that the pruning of the lemon involves 
many of the considerations urged in Chapter XII for deciduous 
fruits ; the method of making a strong, short trunk, the arrange- 
ment of branches, the prevention of long growths, the encourage- 
ment of low, bearing twigs, the thinning of twigs to prevent the 
tree from becoming too dense, the points to be observed in cutting 
back, not by shearing but by treating each branch according to 
its position and vigor — all these must be borne in mind by the lemon 
pruner. It must also be remembered that the work must be reso- 
lutely continued and the tree always prevented from wild growth 
and kept down to bearing on the smaller twigs, which are promoted 
and retained for that purpose. The building-down process described 
for the young orange is easily applicable to the lemon. 

Old lemon trees which have been allowed to grow away into a 
long, rangy form and to bear fruit too high for profit, can be 
brought down to good form by severe cutting back and after- 
treatment of the new shoots, keeping the smaller horizontal growths 
and cutting out cleanly the strong upright shoots, or cutting them 
back if more branches are needed. The time for pruning the lemon 
depends upon the end in view ; if a young tree, to promote wood 
growth, prune at the opening of the growing season in the spring; 
in older trees, to repress growth and advance fruiting, prune in 
midsummer. 

A very suggestive description of the actual operation, for all 
those who have lemon trees too high for economical picking and 
needing renewal of thrift for abundant bearing, is the following: 

While the fruit is oflf is the very best time for renewal of old lemon 
trees by heavy pruning of their tops, according to Mr. C. C. Teague, man- 
ager of the Limoneira orchards in Ventura County. Heavy top cuts made 
between May 1 and August 15 have been found to induce a vigorous growth 



394 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

of new wood, which will set a fine crop of lemons the following spring. 
Heavy pruning after August 15 or September 1 makes the new growth 
come so late in the season that it is short and stubby and does not make 
enough fruit. Lower wood of good foliage and color, which is left, will 
bloom in the fall for the crop to be picked the following spring. 

The heavily pruned trees lose about one-fourth of their height and over 
half of their brush. Cuts are made as low as necessary in the tops to get 
rid of most of the big brush on each main limb. Always a horizontally 
growing branch is left just below the cut. Few main limbs are taken out at 
the head of the tree on account of the danger of starting decay in the trunks. 
All considerable wounds are covered with a mixture of asphaltum and creo- 
sote. This is applied with a brush fixed at an angle on the end of a long 
stick; for many of the cuts are 10 to 12 feet up. The tops are heavily 
thinned out, but inside and low-growing fruit brush is partly cut back 
and left to the fullest extent possible. It has been found that after the 
heavy topping even the leafless, seemingly dead, twigs in the skirts of the 
tree will put out leaves and fruit when light is let in through the opened 
centers. Not even the dead twigs in the skirts are taken out, because un- 
observant pruners would take much live wood with it. 

Too much of the skirt growth was cut from the first trees heavily 
pruned, and long growth was left on the corners of the top. Both of these 
practices were seen to be serious faults. The upper corners whipped in 
the wind, bore terminal fruit, and by the extra leverage and exposure 
split off more limbs. 

On trees so pruned three weeks previously an abundant shooting of new 
growth was already seen all along the main limbs, even down to the head 
of the tree, the more horizontal limbs having the most numerous shoots. 
These will bear fruit abundantly close to the strong framework of the tree 
for years to come, if kept properly thinned out. Many of them will set fruit 
next spring. Meanwhile the old growth left in the skirts will set fruit more 
abundantly this fall to mature next spring. 

As there is some fruit on the brush cut out, pickers follow the pruners 
and save the fruit. Following closely after the pruners is a spray rig apply- 
ing whitewash to all the main limbs to prevent sunburn. 

When it is remembered that harvesting lemons is a continuous 
operation as will be stated presently, keeping the bearing wood of 
the tree within easy reach is more imperative from an economic 
point of view than with trees from which fewer pickings gather 
the crop. 

Pruning is also related to preventing infection of the fruit with 
lemon rot fungus spores from the ground. Fruits which touch the 
ground or upon which dirt is splashed by rains is first infected. 
This question of infection is discussed in Bulletin 190 of the Cali- 
fornia Experiment Station. 

PREPARATION OF LEMONS FOR MARKETING 

The lemon as taken from the tree is not in condition for market- 
ing except to packers who wish to undertake the curing. To secure 
best results in quality and in keeping properties, the lemon should 
be carefully cut from the tree as soon as proper size is reached. 
To allow the fruit to hang upon the tree until lemon color is as- 
sumed, gives a lemon which is deficient in juice, oversized, apt to 
develop bitterness, and prone to decay. Two and five-sixteenths 
rings are used for winter pickings and 2^ for spring and summer, 
never more than six weeks being allowed to elapse between pick- 
ings, and the fruit is usually picked once a month. By careful at- 



PICKING AND CURING LEMONS 395 

tention to this, desirable sizes and good-keeping stock are obtained. 
Neglect of this is the weak point of many of the lemon growers of 
California. Good results can not be obtained, even by the best 
methods of keeping lemons, unless the fruit is picked at the proper 
time and properly handled. 

If gathered before the color begins to turn, properly cured 
lemons may be kept for months, and they will improve in market 
qualities, by a thinning and toughening of the skin, and by increase 
of juice contents. This curing of the fruit, as it is called, is accom- 
plished in many simple ways. If the fruit is gathered and placed 
in piles under the trees, where, with low-headed trees, it is com- 
pletely shaded by the foliage, it processes well and comes out 
beautiful in color and excellent in quality, providing it is a good 
variety. Some have trusted wholly to this open-air curing under 
the trees, merely protecting the fruit by a thin covering of straw, 
or other light, dry materials. Others let the fruit lie a few days 
under the trees, carefully shaded from the sun, and place it in boxes 
or upon trays, and keep it months in a darkened fruit-house, pro- 
viding ventilation but guarding the fruit against draughts of air. 
Gathering the fruit while still green and packing with alternate 
layers of dry sand, has given excellent marketable fruit, but of 
course the handling of so much sand is too expensive nor is it at 
all necessary. 

Much attention has been given to lemon storage in Southern 
California, and many curing and storage houses have been con- 
structed. Naturally there is great variation in design and method 
of operation. The largest and latest design of lemon curing and 
storage houses is that of the Limoneira Company at Santa Paula, in 
Ventura County, and is described by Mr. W. S. Killingsworth as 
follows : 

The entire plant is constructed of reinforced concrete and hollow tile, 
and is 600 feet long. The main room in the center of the building, where 
the lemons are graded and packed, is 166 by 200 feet, and is designed so that 
and other floor may be placed between the present floor and the joists. At 
each end of the main room there is a storage room 160 by 218 feet each. A 
reinforced concrete fire-wall extends above the roof and separates the main 
room from the two end rooms. A concrete basement ten feet in the story 
extends the length and breadth of the entire building. As the fruit is brought 
from the orchard it is received at the two end rooms, where the washing 
machinery is located, there being two in each room; one-half of each room 
is set apart for the washing machines, the other half is enclosed and used 
for storage. When the fruit is washed it is either placed in one of these 
rooms or in the basement, being conveyed in boxes on a traveling belt and 
there remains until cured, and ready to be placed on the market, or held in 
storage as market conditions are favorable or otherwise. Two electric 
driven elevators carry the fruit to the main floor of the center or general 
work room, where it is graded and placed on trays two feet square, from 
which it is taken when being packed. 

The old tent system of curing lemons, which originated at this ranch, has 
been supplanted by a ventilator system. When necessary the air is drawn 
from the curing rooms by an electric fan, to which is connected a 24-inch 
pipe reduced to ten inches when it comes in contact with the underground 
pipes extending the full length of the basement. These pipes are six and 
eight inches in diameter with two-inch holes on the top side, at intervals 
of six feet, and it is through these holes the air is drawn from the base- 



396 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

merit by the fan. The hour and length of time the fan is in motion depends 
upon the weather and condition of the fruit. The fan is naturally used more 
often when the basement is full of fruit; however, temperature and humidity 
are the ruling factors. Along the sides of the basement windows are ar- 
ranged with covers that are mechanically operated so that a number can 
be opened and closed at one time. This is for the purpose of allowing free 
circulation of air when the fan is in motion. 

The storage capacity of the building is 450 cars of lemons. In addition, 
ten cars of box material, paper and nails, automatic box-making machines 
and equipment of various kinds may also be stored. The four machines 
have a maximum capacity of washing ten to twelve cars daily, and the 
packing and shipping capacity is ten cars daily. 

Mr. Teague of the Limoneira Company has concluded that 
proper conditions for keeping lemons lie just between the points 
where they wilt and where they sweat, inducing neither if possible, 
for too much moisture induces decay and too little causes shrivel- 
ing. The fragment of the stem left on the fruit by the cutter may 
be used as a test; if it adheres, the conditions are right for slow 
curing; if it detaches easily, the best keeping quality is not being 
secured. 

This position indicates a belief that a proper degree of atmos- 
pheric humidity is requisite in lemon curing and storage. Mr. A. 
D. Shamel also places stress upon the factor of air-moisture and 
has designed a "humidifier" by which this can be assured even in 
interior situations where it is likely to be most essential. In the 
recently built lemon house of the James Mills Orchard Company 
at Maxwell on the west side of the Sacramento Valley a humidifier 
is used consisting of a series of blankets suspended from a water 
tank so that the moisture reaches down the entire width of the 
blanket, perhaps three or four feet. The blankets hang close to each 
other and parallel. At one end of this humidifier a large electric 
fan sends a blast of air over the blankets, taking from them mois- 
ture and reducing the temperature. This cooled, and to a degree 
moisture laden, air is then forced into the lemon store rooms. 

With proper curing facilities lemons picked in November and 
December may be kept until the following July. Later pickings 
may not keep so well and may be marketed first. Of the finer 
points in lemon handling, however, there is much which must be 
learned by experience. 

Forced curing of lemons, by which green fruit may be colored 
in about two weeks, is done by burning oil stoves in a closed room. 
The change is effected by the products of combustion and not by 
the heat alone. The process is described in detail in Bulletin No. 
232 of the Bureau of Plant Industry of the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, February 13, 1912. 

VARIETIES OF LEMONS FOR CALIFORNIA 

During the earlier years of California lemon growing there were 
continuous efforts put forth to secure better lemon varieties. Dur- 
ing the last two decades three varieties have been accepted as satis- 
factory and nearly all others have been dropped. The three are 
Eureka, Lisbon, and Villa Franca, arranged according to present 



THE LIME AND CITRON 



397 



degree of popularity in Southern California, where nearly the whole 
commercial product is now made, although some plantings have 
been undertaken farther north, chiefly in the citrus belt on the east 
side of the San Joaquin Valley. 

Eureka. — A native of California, originated by C. R. Workman, at Los 
Angeles, from seed imported from Hamburg in 1872, only one seed growing 
from which buds were put by him on orange stock. Distributed by T. A. 
Garey, of Los Angeles. Tree very free from thorns. Fruit medium size, 
sweet rind, a good keeper, few seeds; very popular, especially in coast re- 
gions. Less popular in the interior because of scant foliage. 

Lisbon. — Imported from Portugal; first grown by D. M. Burnham, of 
Riverside. Fruit uniformly medium size, rather oblong, fine grain, thin 
sweet rind, strong acid; few seeds; a good keeper; tree is a strong grower, 
with compact foliage, prolific bearer, but starts bearing late; quite thorny, 
but thorns decrease in size as the tree grows older; popular at interior 
points, especially in the Tulare county region. 

Villa Franca. — Imported from Europe. Medium size, oblong, slightly 
pointed at the blossom end, rind thin, without bitterness, acid strong, juicy, 
nearly seedless. Tree thornless, branches spreading and somewhat droop- 
ing, foliage abundant; withstands lower temperature than other imported 
varieties. 

THE LIME 

The lime (Citrus medica acida) has proved much less hardy than 
the lemon. It has been killed in situations where the orange and 
lemon have not been injured. Unless adequate protection is thought 
worth the effort, there is little use in planting the lime, except in a 
frostless situation. Such localities are found near the ocean in 
Southern California, and here and there at proper elevation around 
the Bay of San Francisco and in the interior both north and south ; 
still the growth of the lime must be counted very hazardous. There 
is less inducement to experiment with the fruit from the fact that 
the Pacific Coast markets are well supplied with Mexican limes, 
usually at prices which leave no opportunity for competitors. 

Limes are grown from seed, the variety usually coming true 
from seed. The trees are small and are frequently grown in hedge 
form. The common variety is the Mexican. The Imperial, a large, 
rather hardy variety, is favorably reported by several growers. 
Bearss Seedless has been successfully and profitably grown by Mr. 
R. Gallegos at the Mission San Jose in Alameda County. 



THE CITRON 

This fruit (Citrus medica cedra) is little grown in California, 
although it is quite hardy and could be produced over a large area. 
The only use for the fruit, which resembles a monstrous lemon, is 
in its candied rind, and no one has deemed it worth while to push 
competition with the imported candied citron, though very fine ex- 
perimental lots have been produced, and the interests of the fruit- 
preserving establishments in the product recurs periodically. There 
have been collections of citron trees imported from the Mediterra- 
nean region by the United States Department of Agriculture. 



398 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



planted at several points in Southern California. As yet no con- 
siderable product has been reached. Samples of the candied article 
have been approved by experts as very satisfactory. 

An outline for the preparation of candied citron is as follows: 
The fruit, before assuming a yellow color, and also when bright 
yellow, is picked and placed in barrels filled with brine, and left 
for at least a month. The brine is renewed several times, and the 
fruit allowed to remain in it until required for use, often for a 
period of four or five months. When the citrons are to be candied 
they are taken from the barrels and boiled in fresh water to soften 
them. They are then cut into halves, the seed and pulp are removed, 
and the fruit is again immersed in cold water, soon becoming of a 
greenish color. After this it is placed in large earthen jars, covered 
with hot syrup, and allowed to stand about three weeks. During 
this time the strength of the syrup is gradually increased. The fruit 
is then put into boilers with crystaUized sugar dissolved in a small 
quantity of water, and cooked ; then allowed to cool, and boiled 
again until it will take up no more sugar. It is then dried and 
packed in wooden boxes. 

ORNAMENTAL CITRUS SPECIES 

There are grown in this State for curiosity or ornament various 
minor citrus species, including the Bergamot and the dwarf orna- 
mental sorts from Asia. There are, of course, the ornamental 
species grown by florists for their fragrant bloom. 



CHAPTER XXXV 

MINOR SEMI-TROPICAL FRUITS IN CALIFORNIA* 

A number of interesting fruits are now grown in this State 
which, for one reason or another, have not yet attained any great 
commercial importance, although some of them are rapidly ad- 
vancing in popular esteem and likely to gain much higher place 
in the markets. Others will probably never be grown except for 
home use and garden ornament. 

THE BANANA 

The banana has been a favorite plant for experimental culture 
for many years, and though good fruit has been grown at various 
points in the State, the culture is too hazardous to warrant large 
investment, and if this danger was not present, the abundant sup- 
plies available from the islands of the Pacific would probably reduce 
the profits to a narrow margin. The banana can be trusted only 
in protected situations and in small numbers which can be given 
special attention. With these conditions the banana may yield very 
acceptable fruit for home use and be an ornament to the garden. 
Its beauty is, however, seriously impaired by winds, which whip 
its tender leaves into shreds and give the plant an unkempt ap- 
pearance. 

The largest number of bananas are seen in Los Angeles and 
Santa Barbara, and one grower at an elevation near the latter place 
reports his table supplied daily throughout the year with the fruit 
of the Cavendish species, which is the most commonly grown sort. 
The Yellow Martinique or Yellow Costa Rica, the Orinoco, the 
Hawaiian Lele, Hart's Choice, and a large-fruited variety known 
in Los Angeles County as the Baldwin, are also approved by 
growers. 

THE CHERIMOYER OR PERUVIAN CUSTARD APPLE 

The oldest cherimoyer (Anona cherimolia) is growing in Santa 
Barbara. The fruit was introduced about fifty years ago, and the 
parent tree has for many years produced abundant fruit in such 
perfection that the seeds have readily germinated, and the trees 
thus propagated have been in successful bearing in several Santa 
Barbara gardens. The leaves are oval and pointed at both ends ; 
flowers solitary, very fragrant, and having a greenish color. Good 
specimens of the fruit are three or four inches in diameter, often 
heart-shaped, grayish brown or nearly black when fully ripe. The 
flesh, in which thirty or forty brown seeds are found, is soft, sweet, 

*A11 the fruits mentioned in this chapter and others are treated exhaustively in 
-"Manual of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits," by Wilson Popenoe, Macmillan Co.. N. Y., 
■1920. 



400 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

and pleasant to the taste, being most palatable when near decay. 
Mr. I. H. Cammack, of Whittier, describes the pulp as of the con- 
sistency of ice cream or a custard flavored with a blending of pine- 
apples and bananas. If it has a fault it is too rich. Apparently it 
has no particular season for ripening, yet the best specimens seem 
to be found in Santa Barbara in April and May. The cherimoyer 
is also found in gardens in San Diego and Los Angeles counties. 
It needs a well-protected situation. The fruit has been marketed 
on a limited scale in Los Angeles, and larger plantations have been 
made especially in the Cahuenga Valley, near Los Angeles. The 
plant comes true from seed, and the tree bears in its fourth year, 
and should have as much room as an orange tree. Mr. C. P. Taft, 
of Orange, points out the fact that much can be gained by selec- 
tion and propagation from the most satisfactory trees, as follows : 

Cherimoyers found in the gardens of Southern California are almost 
always seedlings, and generally shy bearers. There is but one named 
variety, so far as I am aware, the Golden Russet. This is very prolific and 
frequently attains large size. Specimens above one pound in weight are 
not uncommon. The quality is as good as any, but is variable owing to the 
season and time of ripening, much cold having a marked deteriorating 
effect. The normal shape is like that of the strawberry, and the variations 
from the normal are equally abundant; in fact, in this respect the cherimolia 
is quite extraordinary, as the same tree will have on it fully matured fruit 
from less than an inch in diameter up to six or eight inches. In size the 
tree averages about the same as the peach. The market is a good one, large 
fruit commanding $3 per dozen or more, while the smaller ones sell by the 
pound at a relatively lower price. 

THE CHOCHO OR CHAYOTA 

The chocho plant (Sechium edule) is perhaps better known as 
"choco," "chocho," "chayota," and "Portuguese squash." It be- 
longs to the order cucurbitacae, and is a vine, with perennial root, 
resembling in growth and fruit our summer squash or vegetable 
marrow. It is a very prolific bearer. Both the fruit and the great 
yam-like tuber are used as food by man and beast in the West 
Indies, where it is considered a wholesome article of diet. The roots 
often weigh as much as twenty pounds. They have a flavor similar 
to the yam, and are considered a greater delicacy than the fruit, 
which in a raw state resembles the chestnut in flavor, and under 
favorable conditions weighs over three pounds. The proper way 
to grow them is to plant the whole fruit, as they have but one seed, 
and they produce fruit in three months, under favorable conditions. 
The vine is exceedingly rapid in growth, and may cover a thousand 
square feet in one summer, and yield shade until frost kills the top 
growth. 

THE GUAVA 

Two species of guava have been quite widely tried in this 
State — the strawberry guava (Psidium cattleyanum )and the lemon 
guava (Psidium guayava). The former is the hardier, and, in fact, 
seems to be about as hardy as the orange, and it has fruited in 



GUAVA AND FEIJOA 4Q][ 

widely separated parts of the State ; the latter is quite tender, and 
is at present only grown in favorable places along our southern 
coast, and even there it is found inferior in quality and usefulness 
to the strawberry guava. 

Mr. C. P. Taft, of Orange, has confidence in the lemon guava 
through the selection of better varieties. It is far larger than the 
strawberry, and of quite attractive appearance. Sometimes the 
color is almost white, sometimes quite green, and frequently of a 
bright yellow, often with a red cheek. These variations are only 
what is naturally to be expected from seedlings, and almost no 
others have yet been planted. Mr. Taft has fruited quite a number, 
perhaps a hundred, and finds it to possess qualities which if prop- 
erly selected and developed will cause it to equal the strawberry 
guava in hardiness and flavor and early ripening. 

Mr. D. W. Coolidge, of Pasadena, gives his judgment of the 
standing of the guava in California as follows : 

The guava is a plant of great value as an ornamental. Its glossy green 
foliage is scarcely less attractive than its large snowy w^hite, jasmine-scented 
flowers. While many varieties of the guava are found growing in our section, 
few of them to my mind have any real value. The strawberry guava type 
is the hardiest and best, and Guava lucidum is the best of the type. This is 
a yellow strawberry guava of a distinctive flavor, and were it not for the 
large seeds possessed by all guavas would be considered an ideal dessert 
fruit. This particular variety, too, is most prodigious in its bearing quali- 
ties. I have known a plant three years from seed to produce more than 
a quart of fruit, and we have had in our nursery plants eighteen months 
from the time the seed was placed in the ground with a number of fruits 
on them. The fruits will average an inch or more in diameter, always 
round, and are of a bright lemon color. The ordinary strawberry or red 
guava is worth while growing for jellies. Another desirable strawberry 
guava is the Guava araca. This in appearance is similar to lucidum, but 
is much later. While lucidum ripens from September to November I have 
never known araca to ripen before the middle or last of December. This one 
is the more susceptible to frost. 

The guava grows quite readily from the seed, and from cuttings 
under glass. In regions of generous rainfall and on retentive soil it 
does not require irrigation, but it must have sufficient moisture at 
command. A light loam seems best adapted to the shrub. 



THE FEIJOA 

Along with the guava should be mentioned the Feijoa Sellow- 
iana, a member also of the myrtle family, and sometimes called 
"Paraguay guava." In habits of growth it is much the same as 
tjie guava, and while the foliage is not so handsome, being of a 
generally silver gray effect, the flower is very showy. In May it 
sends forth a great profusion of blossoms, which may be called 
red, white and blue, unless one desires to be perfectly accurate, in 
which case the blue would have to be changed to purple. The 
petals are unusually thick and fleshy and are very sweet to the 
taste. The highly perfumed fruit, about one and one-half to two 
inches or more in length, comes in November. The flavor is de- 



402 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

licious, like the strawberry, but lacking the acid. The seeds are 
very small, almost unnoticeable ; quite a contrast in this respect to 
the guava. 

Mr. Coolidge gives this appreciative sketch of the plant and 
fruit : 

Feijoa, coming from Uruguay and Southern Brazil, is a fruit of extreme 
hardiness, and has stood a temperature of four degrees above zero without 
injury. I know of plants growing on the desert that have endured a week's 
temperature of 115 degrees without any injury, so we can safely class it as 
a hardy fruit. So far nothing but seedlings have been grown, and these 
vary greatly as to bearing qualities and size of fruits, but there are individ- 
ual plants growing in our section that fruit regularly and produce fruits 
of a good size. Within a few years we will have plants of the feijoa pro- 
ducing fruits on the average as large as an ordinary hen's egg. The fruit 
ripening in December gives it a status that no other fruit of its character 
has. I have kept the fruits in good condition for four weeks after picking. 
It is one of our finest ornaments with its grayish green persistent foilage 
and charming white and red flowers. 

Feijoa plants can be grown from the seeds, but seedlings are 
seldom worth growing. Good varieties can be layered in this way : 
Bend the lower limbs down and fasten them into scooped-out 
places in the ground, using a forked stick with one end longer than 
the other, driven into the ground to hold the branch down firmly. 
Cover with three or four inches of earth. The best time for this 
work is in the fall, but it can be successfully done at almost any 
time of the year. Two or three months will be required for the 
layered branch to start out the new root growth, and during this 
time the ground must not be allowed to dry out, and should at all 
times be moist, but not too wet. 

Feijoa only needs pruning enough to form a well-shaped bush. 
It takes most readily to a roundish form and should be checked 
from too much rambling — though, as the fruit comes on the new 
wood, enough of the newer growth must be carefully provided for. 
In a garden the plant can be trained to a fence, trellis, etc., but 
usually shapes itself pretty well with the slight assistance indicated. 

Seedling feijoas are frequently sterile and require cross-fertiliza- 
tion. They should be grafted with scions from plants of good 
behavior. The fruit should be allowed to drop from the tree as 
evidence of full maturity. It is then laid away until it begins to 
soften. At that time it exhales its maximum of perfume and is held 
to be delicious — combining the flavors of pineapple, strawberry, 
raspberry and banana. It is conceded that some people have to 
learn to like it, however. It is eaten out of hand or with cream, and 
is usable for jams, jellies, etc. 

THE GRANADILLA 

The granadilla is the term applied to the edible fruit of a species 
of passion vine (Passifiora edulis), which is quite hardy, and is 
growing in different parts of the State. The fruit is about the size 
of a small hen's egg, purple exterior when ripe, the thin brittle 
shell inclosing a mass of small seeds covered with a brilliant yellow 



JUJUBE AND LOQUAT 4^3 

pulp, mildly acid and of very agreeable flavor. Very good jelly 
has been made of the fruit. Another passion vine with large pink 
flowers is very widely distributed in California, and bears a large, 
yellowish-brown fruit with edible pulp. 

THE JUJUBE 

The jujube (Zizyphus jujube), from the fruit of which the deli- 
cate paste of the confectioner is, or should be, made, was intro- 
duced by Mr. G. P. Rixford in 1876, and is fruiting regularly and 
freely in several parts of the State. The plant is easily grown 
from seed or cuttings. The orange-red berries are produced three 
years from planting, and ripen in November and December. They 
are edible, fresh or dried. As yet the fruit has not been turned to 
commercial account. 

A large-fruited Chinese species was introduced more recently, 
and has fruited freely at several points in California interior val- 
leys. It can be grown readily from seeds or cuttings, and the fruit 
may be dried like a date, which it somewhat resembles in flavor. 

THE LOQUAT 

The loquat (Eriobotrya Japonica) is widely grown in California 
as an ornamental plant, and a small amount of fruit is profitably 
marketed each year. During the last twenty-five years a very, 
marked improvement in loquats has been achieved by painstaking 
effort by Mr. C. P. Taft, of Orange, who began growing loquats in 
1891. Mr. Taft's work has demonstrated that this fruit is suscep- 
tible of improvement in size, flavor, appearance, in bearing habit 
of the tree, and in direction of early and late varieties ; and in all 
these directions not only in the line of better fruit, but fruit which 
commands in the market several times the value of the common 
types. Upon the basis of the new varieties the season for the loquat 
is from February to June, the bulk of the crop coming in April and 
the first half of May. The Advance Loquat was the first of the new 
varieties to attract attention. Mr. Taft has named the following 
varieties : 

Advance. — Yellow, pear-shaped, from two to three inches in length, 
clusters very large, very sweet when fully ripe in May. 

Premier. — Salmon-colored, oval, large, but not as large as the Advance, 
sweet, but peculiar flavor, ripens earlier than Advance. 

Victor. — Largest, color pink to red, probably the best for canning. 

Champagfne. — Very large and fine, clusters loose; ripens with Advance. 

Early Red. — The earliest loquat, ripens in February and March. 

Other varieties have also originated in California. A full ac- 
count of varieties and of the culture and commercial standing of 
loquats is now available.* 

*"The Loquat," by Ira J. Condit: University of California Experiment Station Bulle- 
tin No. 250, and "The Kaki or Oriental Persimmon," Bulletin 316, by the same author, 
can be had from the station at Berkeley. 



404 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

THE PERSIMMON 

The Persimmon of the Southern States (Diospyros Virginiana) 
was introduced into California in early days, as there are trees 
thirty to forty feet high growing in Rancho Chico. The widely 
distributed species, however, is the Japanese (Diospyros Kaki), of 
which many varieties are now fruiting in different parts of the 
State. The tree is quite hardy, and fruits freely both along the 
coast region and in the interior. It easily takes the form of a low 
standard, and with its large, glossy leaves during the summer, and 
its immense, high-colored fruit clinging to the twigs after the 
leaves have fallen, it is a striking object in the orchard or in the 
house garden. 

Persimmons grow readily from seed, but in most cases the im- 
proved varieties must be reproduced by grafting on seedlings of 
either the Japanese or American species. The tree seems to thrive 
in any fair fruit soil, taking very kindly to close soils if well cul- 
tivated. The amounts of fruit now reaching our market are in- 
creasing, and a demand is found for certain amounts at fair prices ; 
but there is no object now apparent for large increase in produc- 
tion. This fruit, so highly esteemed in the Orient, and so highly 
praised by travelers, has not become as popular as expected on this 
coast, nor have the great markets of the East required more than 
a carload or two a year so far. Such limited shipments have, how- 
ever, sold well in the large Atlantic coast cities, where a consid- 
erable number of Orientals have congregated. Americans who 
wish persimmons at all seem to prefer the smaller but more piquant 
Virginia species. 

Recently, however, the local demand has increased because of 
the large numbers of Japanese who are now upon the Pacific coast, 
and a shipping demand for the fruit from Seattle to the Hawaiian 
Islands and other Pacific ports has arisen. Local sale in San Fran- 
cisco and Los Angeles is profitable in a small way. The removal of 
astringency while the fruit remains firm has been successfully ac- 
complished by Mr. George C. Roeding, of Fresno, following a Jap- 
anese method. It is simply to place the fruit in tubs, from which 
saki, or Japanese "rice beer," has been lately removed. The tubs 
are hermetically sealed, and the fruit left in them from eight to ten 
days. When it is then removed, it is found to have altogether lost 
the puckering power. Mr. Roeding says that he used eight large 
saki tubs, each of which would hold twenty-five gallons, and in 
those treated one thousand pounds of persimmons. 

Perhaps the largest single persimmon-producing proposition in 
California is that of Ira Avery, in Placer County, which is thus 
described by Mr. R. E. Hodges : 

A mile down grade into the American River canyon, protected on all 
sides by magnificent hills, Ira Avery's father-in-law planted Japenese per- 
simmon trees in 1876, and three of them are still thrifty and bearing. It 
was in 1887 that Mr. Avery bought the ranch and planted 50 more. In the 
years since then, many persimmons have been planted in whatever nooks 
of the ranch were available until now he has 1500 trees ranging from one 
to 38 years old. Four hundred were planted last spring, and one of these 



PERSIMMON AND PINEAPPLE 



405 



bore fruit the same season. The first four or five years, however, all fruit 
should be picked off. It is during this time, too, that all the pruning is 
done, just to shape the tree. Picking begins the middle of September and 
lasts until December. The fruit is then unripe, hard as a green tomato, 
colored, but not the same as they become later. They are wrapped in 
papers like peaches, and packed in peach boxes, holding about 30 lbs.; the 
largest size being the highest priced. The Tane Nashi variety pays best on 
account of its size and earliness. Seven main varieties are grown and 
shipped, as follows: Tane Nashi, Hachiyu, Hyakume (the most important), 
Maru Kaki, Mikado and Edoishi. 

Some trees yield over 30 boxes, many are not yet in bearing; the crop in 
1912 was 2200 boxes, in 1913 1500, because the trees bear lighter in alter- 
nate years. 

New York is the best market, Pittsburg, Philadelphia and Boston being 
good, while the demand is light in the Middle West. Many are sold in San 
Francisco, where the average net in 1913 was $1.08>^ per box, while the 
net on eastern shipments was $1.35. The fruit is too hard to eat even after 
shipment to New York, where it must be stored some time until well 
ripened. 

More recently the persimmon has commanded higher prices, and 
the fruit shipped in December 1918 from the J. B. Hamaker ranch 
in Placer County brought $5.25 a box packed in an ordinary peach 
container, with some forty to forty-five fruits to a box. Still the 
persimmon should be regarded conservatively. It does not yet ap- 
pear that Americans care much for it. 

THE PINEAPPLE 

Casual experiments with the pineapple in the open air in this 
State have been made for a number of years, the fruit being occa- 
sionally produced. Most was accomplished by Mr. J. B. Rapp, of 
Hollywood, Los Angeles County, in the Cahuenga Valley, and in 
that part of the valley which is famed as frostless, where even beans 
and tomatoes survive winter temperatures. Mr. Rapp succeeded 
in getting fruits which weighed from two to four pounds each. If 
the strongest offsets or suckers are planted they bear inside of a 
year, and if the fruit sets from May to November it gets good size, 
but setting at other times in the year is usually undersized on ac- 
count of the slow growth during the winter and early spring. It 
seems probable that the pineapple resents the dry air of our sum- 
mer, as well as the lack of winter heat, and a lath covering and a 
summer spraying may be desirable. It is very doubtful whether 
the fruit can.be profitably grown in this State on a commercial 
scale. 

The pineapple thrives best on a fine sandy loam, but will grow 
well on many soils if well drained and cultivated. The plants can 
be set three by three or four by five feet, so as to allow cultivation 
both ways while the plants are young. Plants are secured from 
"suckers," which come from the root, from "slips," which grow 
on the stem just below the "apple," and from "crowns," or the tufts 
of leaves at the top of the fruit. Suckers are said to bear in one 
year, and slips and crowns in two years. Strong suckers are best 
for planting, and they should be set out early in the spring, as soon 
as the danger of cold weather is over. 



405 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

THE POMEGRANATE 

This fruit (Punica granatum), famed in literature and art, is 
grown in various parts of the State, and certain amounts are prof- 
itably sold. The shrub or low tree, in good soil, will reach the 
height of twenty feet. It is a hardy plant, easy of propagation 
from seed or cutting. The beauty of the tree, not taking the fruit 
into account, has caused it to be planted in many gardens. Exposed 
to the raw sea winds, it does not bloom well nor set with fruit, and 
is best adapted to the warmer regions of the interior, where it is 
an early and abundant bearer. The variety chiefly cultivated is 
a bright orange color, but there is found a large variety of them, 
varying from almost pure white with a faint blush, to dark red. 
The fruit ripens in the warmer parts of the State, north and south, 
in October. 

Pomegranates for eastern shipment are proving profitable in 
the citrus district of eastern Tulare County, and packers report the 
supply scant of the demand. More recently plantings have increased, 
partly because of the tolerance of the plant for alkaline soil and 
because of profitable sales. Two of the older plantings are these : 

The Merriman ranch in the citrus district of Tulare County has five 
acres of Ruby pomegranate trees, about thirteen years old in 1919. The 
trees are planted 22 feet apart. The fruits are packed in half orange 
boxes — each box holding about 36 fruits. At first they were marketed by 
putting a few boxes of fruit in each car of oranges. In 1915 they sent one 
car to the Chicago and one to the New York auction. The Ruby is the 
best variety for the market because of its rich red color. The Mission 
variety is the best to eat, but is not marketable because of its poor ap- 
pearance. 

In 1918 Harry Hooper in Sutter County had 26 acres of pomegranates 
(interplanted with olives), four and five years old, and shipped 700 boxes 
from the young plantation. They are of the "Wonderful" variety and are 
shipped in four grades, the largest of nearly 4-inch caliper and of gor- 
geous coloring, and the New York market absorbs the fruit readily at 
remunerative prices. 

A careful study of the pomegranate in California has recently 
been made, and a very satisfactory special publication is now 
available.* 

THE STRAWBERRY TREE 

The Spanish madrono (Arbutus unedo) is now quite widely 
grown, chiefly as an ornamental shrub or tree. The growth is ex- 
ceedingly beautiful if kept free from scale insects, the fruit ranging 
as it ripens through shades of yellow, orange, and deep red, and 
contrasting beautifully with the glossy evergreen foliage. The 
fruit is of pleasant flavor. 

MELON SHRUB 

This plant (Solanum Guatemalense) is a small, half-herbaceous 
shrub from the table-land of Guatemala. The fruit is yellow, 
splashed with violet, somewhat of the shape of the eggplant, but 

*"The Pomegranate," by R. W. Hodgson: Bulletin 276, University of California Ex- 
periment Station, Berkeley: to be had free on application. 



OTHER SEMITROPICAL FRUITS 407 

is usually seedless, and is readily propagated from cuttings. There 
are thriving plants in many protected places in the State, and some 
fruit reaches the market, but few seem to like the flavor, which is 
something like a tomato and melon mixed. Its greatest use will 
probably be for salads. 

THE MELON TREE 

The melon pawpaw (Carica papaya) has been widely intro- 
duced experimentally in this State, and many situations are found 
unfitted for its growth, but satisfactory fruiting has been secured 
at several places in Southern California ; especially if protected the 
first year it will stand light frosts afterwards. It ripens fruit the 
third year from the seed — the fruit being pleasant to eat as one 
would a muskmelon. The large fig-like leaves and the peculiar 
markings of the trunk make the tree a very striking object. 



THE PRICKLY PEAR 

The tuna, or fruit of the cactus (Opuntia vulgaris), is produced 
in nearly all parts of the State except on the mountains. It was 
one of the old mission fruits, and was enjoyed by the early mining 
population until better fruits were available. It is about as large 
as a medium-sized pear, and has a pleasant acid flavor if one suc- 
ceeds in escaping the prickles in getting at the interior of the fruit. 
The tuna is still a commercial article in a small way.* Plants are 
grown readily from cuttings of the fleshy leaves. 

Quite a distinction must now be made between the foregoing 
and the smooth or spineless fruits, which are superior in quality as 
well as unarmed with prickles, and therefore readily handled and 
eaten. Varieties more or less innocent in this respect were intro- 
duced from the Mediterranean region many years ago, and propa- 
gated to a limited extent. Recently Mr. Luther Burbank of Santa 
Rosa has undertaken special work with the cactus, both for fruit- 
age and forage purposes, and has attained remarkable results. 

THE WHITE SAPOTA 

There are two old trees in Santa Barbara, one believed to have 
survived from the mission planting in the early part of the last 
century, the other half as old, of the white sapota (Casimiroa 
edulis). Dr. Franceschi commends the tree for every garden in 
which only light frosts are to be expected. Mr. Taft reports the 
sapota as bearing well with him in Orange County. The tree is 
an exceedingly rapid grower, much after the habit of the walnut, 
but evergreen. In August and September the peach-like fruit, 
greenish yellow, with large seeds shaped like those of an orange, 
matures well and is excellent, this being the normal season for 
ripening. At other times fruit is often found, but is apt to be 

*"The Tuna as food for man," by David Griffiths, Bulletin 116, Bureau of Plant In- 
dustry. 



408 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

worthless and even dangerous. As it will not ripen well off the 
trees and must be quite soft when eaten, it will never be of much 
market value. The tree seems somewhat hardier than the orange. 

THE TREE TOMATO 

This plant (Cyphomandra betacea) is a native of Central Amer- 
ica and is of shrubbery habit, growing five or six feet high, with 
large, shining leaves, often a foot long. The flowers are fragrant, 
of a pale, flesh color, with yellow stamens, and are followed by 
fruit the shape and size of a duck's egg, at first of a purple tint, 
but gradually assuming a warm, reddish color as it ripens. When 
ripe the fruit may be used raw as a tomato is. If the skin is removed 
and the fruit stewed with sugar, it has a slight sub-acid flavor which 
is very refreshing. It makes a fine jelly. The plants bear the second 
year from the seed and the fruit ripens continuously for several 
months. The seeds should be started just as are those of the 
common tomato, and the plants set out eight or ten feet apart. 

THE KAI APPLE 

This name is applied to the fruit of Aberia Caffra, a native of 
Natal and Kaffaria, a tall shrub, yielding an edible fruit of a golden 
yellow color, about an inch in diameter. It is commended as a 
hedge plant, as it is densely clothed with strong. dry spines. The 
leaves are small and of a rich green hue. The fruit, which is pro- 
duced freely in the warmer parts of the State, is chiefly used for 
making preserves. 

OTHER FRUITS 

The foregoing enumeration does not include all the exotic fruits 
which have found a place in California soil. There are many more, 
some of which are demonstrating their fitness to add to the graces 
or the gains of our horticultural life. The caricas, carissas, eugenias, 
hovenia, etc., are all gaining places in California gardens. Even the 
more strictly tropical mango, the monstera, sapodilla and the like 
are claiming the attention of amateurs. 



PART SIX: SMALL FRUITS 



CHAPTER XXXVI 



BERRIES AND CURRANTS IN CALIFORNIA 

In suitable soils and situations, and with proper care and cultiva- 
tion, the small fruits sustain the general reputation of California by 
the size and quality of the product, and by the long-continued and 
abundant fruiting of the plants. Probably nowhere else in the world 
do small fruits better repay generous treatment than in this State, 
and probably nowhere do they suffer more from neglect. There are 
parts of the State, of course, where some small fruits, left to their 
own resources, thrive and bear abundantly, but, speaking of the 
State as a whole, the price of success is intelligent devotion on the 
part of the grower. 

There are localities in California which favor almost continuous 
growth and fruiting of some of the small fruits, and it is no fiction 
to say that in such a place one may have raspberries and straw- 
berries upon his table every month of the year. Such situations 
are the thermal belts, which are practically frostless, and, by secur- 
ing favoring moisture conditions in the soil and proper varieties of 
the fruits, the existing temperature conditions will produce the 
results indicated. Though this be the case, the profitable growth 
of small fruits is not, of course, restricted to such situations, but the 
largest commercial enterprises are carried on in places where the 
summer-crop rule prevails, but the bearing season is much longer 
than in the eastern States. 

The U. S. Census of 1920 reports the small fruit interests of 
California for the year 1919 as follows: 

Kind. Acreage. 

Strawberries 4,074 

Blackberries 1,742 

Loganberries 459 

Raspberries 417 

Currants 298 

Other berries 46 

Totals 7,290 15,458,726 $3,092,852 

Small fruits for family use may be grown on all fertile soils, 
and therefore they should be produced on every farm. Growing 
for market on a large scale involves considerations of suitability 
of soil and climate, ease of cultivation, water supply and facilities 
for transportation, and local organizations for marketing, all of 



Product 




Quarts. 


Farm Value. 


10,808,948 


$2,161,612 


2,549,082 


549,816 


655,592 


131,119 


882,432 


185,310 


511,278 


97,147 


52,294 


7,848 



410 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

which should be determined by personal observation of existing 
small fruit farms before an important commercial venture is entered 
upon.* 

It is often claimed that soil for small fruits should be deep and 
rich, of the types generally called garden soils. There is an advan- 
tage in this because of amount of plant food and retention of 
moisture when well cultivated, but at the same time shallow soils 
even when overlying hardpan, which may not suit deep rooting trees 
or garden roots, can be profitably used for small fruits if water and 
fertiHzers are intelligently used. This will be stated more fully in 
the discussion of the strawberry, but the general fact is pertinent to 
the growth of other small fruits also. 

Preparation of soil for small fruits should be most thorough and 
careful. Even more generous work than that commanded in Chap- 
ter X for trees and vines should be done. It is the more necessary 
to work deeply for planting because subsequent culture of small 
fruits must be shallow. 



THE BLACKBERRY 

The blackberry is a great favorite in California markets. It 
thrives in all parts of the State, and the plant is best suited of all 
small fruits to yield generously without irrigation, though it relishes 
sufficient moisture and repays it with fruit. There is a great differ- 
ence in practice as to supplying water artifically. The growth of 
cane, and the size and appearance of the fruit, will show the observ- 
ing grower what should be the practice in his situation, and the 
general suggestions as to irrigation in Chapter XV are applicable. 
There are regions in which blackberries are irrigated weekly 
throughout the summer, and others in which the berries are gath- 
ered from June to November without irrigation. Of course, with 
such wide local variations there can be no general rule for practice. 
Let the grower simply bear in mind that if he does not get good, 
plump, and glistening fruit and good strong growth of new canes at 
the same time, he should give irrigation. The requirements of the 
plant during the fruiting season are great, and they must be met. 
Many failures are due to lack of irrigation when needed. 

Propagation. — Blackberry plants of upright varieties are secured 
by digging up the shoots which come late in the summer from old 
stools ; securing therewith a bunch of fibrous roots with a portion 
of the main root three or four inches long. To propagate on a large 
scale dig up the roots entirely, and, cutting them up with pruning 
shears into pieces about two inches long, plant them in a well- 
prepared bed in the garden or nursery. Place the root cuttings 
about two inches apart and cover about three inches deep with 
well-pulverized soil, the depth being regulated, of course, according 
to the nature of the soil, deeper in light than heavy soils. A light 
mulch will assist in retaining moisture. The time for this work is 

*"Small Fruit Culture in California." and "Irrigation Practice in Growing Small 
Fruits in California" — circulars 154 and 164, California Eocperiment Station, Berkeley. 



GROWING BLACKBERRIES 41 ^ 

at the dormant period of the plant. One summer's growth gives 
good plants for setting out. 

The Mammoth and Crandall are propagated by rooting tips of 
canes or by layering canes. 

Planting Out Blackberries.— Blackberries should be planted in 
rows far enough apart to admit of the use of the horse and culti- 
vator. As the constant tendency of the plant is to extend itself in 
the growth of new canes, the rows should not be less than six to 
eight feet apart, and the plants about three feet apart in the row. 
The plants soon occupy the full space in the row, and cultivation is 
only possible between thie rows. Some growers plant blackberries 
as they do grapevines, seven or eight feet apart both ways, and then 
cultivate with the horse both ways. Planting in rows is usually 
thought better. The number of plants to fill an acre at different 
distances can be calculated as described in Chapter XXVI for 
grapevines. 

D. Edson Smith, of Orange County, who had much experience 
with small fruits, described his method of laying out and planting 
on a large scale, with a view to irrigation, as follows : 

Plow deeply and harrow thoroughly several times before setting out. 
Lastly, open a trench with your plow where the row is to be, twenty in- 
ches deep; go along with a basket of plants, a four-foot lath and a shovel, 
and set a plant in this trench every four feet and fill the dirt around it with 
the shovel. If this trench is too deep in places for the length of the plant 
root, fill in with a little dirt; if not quite deep enough in places, scoop 
out a shovelful. Aim, in preparing the ground with plow and smoother, 
to leave it dishing each way toward the row of young plants, so that ir- 
rigating water turned in at the upper end will run alonf the row of plants 
as in a trough. Aim to have the ground around the set plants a few 
inches below the general level of the land. After the plants are all set 
in a row, go along with a rake if there are but a few plants, or with a 
horse-hoe if there are many, and fill in the trench between the plants. It 
is a pleasure to set out plants in this way, and such deep, rich, well- 
stirred soil delights the plant roots, so that they grow rapidly in every di- 
rection, and the plants throw up their heads in a manner entirely satis- 
factory to all concerned. If the ground is dry, or there is no rain soon 
after setting out the plants, irrigating water should be turned down the 
row or at least a quart or two of water poured around each plant; then 
before the soil hardens, stir it well with cultivator and hoe. All future 
care resolves itself into frequent waterings and frequent stirrings of the 
soil. Allow no weeds to appear, and keep three inches of surface soil 
well loosened with the horse and hoes. These small fruits require frequent 
waterings, especially when forming fruit and during the fruiting season. 

Cultivation.— Thorough cultivation of the surface soil is essen- 
tial for retention of moisture. After the plants attain size, cultiva- 
tion should be secured with as shallow-cutting tools as possible so 
as to prevent injury to the roots, which not only weakens the plant, 
but increases the growth of suckers between the rows. A horse- 
hoe with a long knife running horizontally, or with duck-foot teeth, 
well sharpened, answers well in keeping the ground clear of weeds 
and suckers, and the surface loose. Due regard must, however, be 
paid to securing sufificient depth in this surface layer to prevent 
the soil beneath baking hard and drying out, as discussed in the 
chapter on Cultivation. 



412 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Frequency of cultivation depends upon irrigation, for the culti- 
vator must always follow the application of water. The spaces in 
the row which can not be reached with the cultivator must be kept 
clean from weeds, and free from baking, by the use of the hoe. It 
is advisable that the cultivation be the cleanest possible, for moisture 
exhaustion by weeds can not be afforded. 

Pruning and Training, — There is a little difference in the ways 
of training blackberries practiced in this State. Of course this does 
not include the "let alone" system, which is not followed by any 
good grower. The difference lies mainly in the use or disuse of 
artificial supports for the canes. In either case the pruning of the 
canes is similar in kind but different in degree, for if no supports are 
used, the canes are headed lower. 

At planting out, cut back the cane to near the surface of the 
ground and mark the plant with a small stake. At first the top 
growth should not be checked, but when new canes grow out 
strongly they should be pinched at the tip to force out lateral 
branches for fruiting the next year. Those who intend to tie canes 
to a stake or trellis let them attain a height of five or six feet before 
pinching off the terminal bud ; those who intend to teach the cane 
to stand alone pinch when it is about four feet high. All agree to 
pinch off the ends of the lateral branches at about eight to twelve 
inches from the main stem. This pinching of blackberry canes may 
be done by the watchful grower of a few plants, with the thumb and 
finger, but thrifty blackberry plants are such rapid cane growers 
that in large plantations cutting back is often done with a sickle or 
corn hook or sharp butcher-knife, several times in the course of the 
summer. It is also advisable to thin out the suckers with the hoe 
while cutting out weeds, leaving only about as many as it is desired 
to have for fruit the next season. This method gives stout canes, 
with plenty of short side branches, well supplied with buds, which 
will send out fruiting shoots the following spring. If supports are 
used, the four to six canes which are left to each stool are gathered 
within a loosely-drawn bale rope and tied to the stake ; or if a trellis 
is used, the branches are brought up to the wire or slat so that the 
distance is about evenly divided between the shoots. 

Mr. Claud D. Tribble of Elk Grove gives the following advice 
for handling the Lawton, which is the chief upright variety growrt 
in California : , 

Give the plants some support the first season by a stake, and the sec- 
ond season the permanent stakes are put in, one on each side of the 
plant. In driving them, allow the tops to be wider than the bottom so the 
berries can be picked easily. Large wires or wooden cleats are used to 
support the vines or canes. The posts are about six feet long and driven 
in the ground until solid, making the top about five feet high. During 
the first season's growth there is very little pruning except thinning to the 
desired number of canes. The second year the canes are allowed to grow 
above the stakes and then tipped to cause laterals to form, which are cut 
back to less than 12 inches to produce berries the following season. The 
old wood is cut out each season and the new shoots trained as before. 
If the old canes are cut out as soon as the crop is gathered, it is done 
more economically and the young plants grow better. 



PRUNING AND CARE OF BLACKBERRIES 4y 

Though these systematic methods of summer pruning are prac- 
tised and advocated by the most careful growers, it should be stated 
that there are large plantations which are conducted upon a more 
simple system. The pruning consists in cutting out old canes in the 
winter, and the only summer pruning is slashing off these canes 
which interfere with cultivation. The canes are sometimes held up 
by tying bunches of them together with ropes. Of course this 
system costs less than the more careful one which has been 
described, and yields profit enough to induce adherence to it. No 
doubt quite as great weight of berries could be had from a smaller 
area by a better system of growing. 

After the leaves fall, the canes which have borne fruit during 
the summer are all cut off even with the surface of the ground with 
long-handled pruning shears or with a short hooked knife with a 
long handle, and all debris removed from the rows. 

Application of Manure. — The blackberry loves very rich ground, 
and plenty of well-rotted stable manure or compost should be 
applied. It is a good plan to apply in a thick covering all over the 
ground and between the canes as soon as the patch is cleaned up 
in the fall. The early rains carry down the soluble parts of the 
manure, and later in the season the whole is plowed in between the 
rows, leaving a foot or more next the plants to be carefully forked 
in, as the digging fork does not cut the roots like the spade. 

Mulching. — The mulch, to keep the ground moist and to obviate 
summer cultivation, is very satisfactory where it is thoroughly done. 
Apply coarse manure or partially-rotted straw and the like, after 
the last spring cultivation, and use the hoe to keep down weeds and 
suckers which come up between the rows. Some growers use mulch 
close to the canes, cultivating the remainder of the ground between 
the rows. 

Bearing Age and Longevity. — If blackberry plants are well 
treated the first year after planting out, there will be considerable 
fruit the following summer. How long the plants will bear satis- 
factorily depends, also, on situation and treatment. Sometimes the 
plants fail early; even with good, generous treatment in good soil, 
the old stool becomes weak, the shoots are thin, and the fruit small. 
Some count about eight years as the profitable age of the plant, and 
then cut out plants and give the land a change. Of course berry 
growers prepare for this by frequently making new plantations. 

Irrigating Blackberries.— Though a good part of the blackberry 
crop is grown in regions of heavy rainfall without irrigation, the use 
of water is sometimes very profitable. Mr. T. B. Cannon, near 
Los Angeles, works in this way : 

Mr. Cannon aims to get Crandall blackberries from June 15 to Novem- 
ber, which is possible by his system of irrigation and pruning. So the 
water is applied in winter and about every ten days until the berries are 
as big as peas, cultivating between times. The rows are eight feet apart 
and the plants four, so that one-horse cultivation is possible until the 
fruit gets so heavy as to bend over into the open space. When ripening 
.time begins in June, a ditch is dug close to the vines on each side of the 



414 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

row, for irrigation. This gets water pretty well where it is needed, the 
ditches are out of the way of the cultivator after the first crop is off, 
and they are shaded so as to avoid evaporation in the hot summer. Water 
is applied every four or five days during the heavy picking, then every 
ten days till the main summer crop comes on, when it is applied twice 
as often again. Irrigation when the berries are turning black makes them 
larger and of better color. While the juice might thus be considered di- 
luted, this is the sort of berry people buy, and the proportion of juice to 
seeds is what makes a desirable market berry, when markets are near by. 
Such practice might make undesirable fruit for canning or shipping. 

Varieties of the Blackberry. — Comparatively few kinds are 
largely grown. The Wilson Junior, Lawton, and Kittatinny were 
formerly the prevailing kinds, ripening in the order named. The 
Erie is favored by some as a middle-season variety. The Early 
Harvest has been favorably reported by a number of growers. Of 
these the Lawton survives as the leading and standard variety ; the 
others have been largely superseded by a renamed variety, Cran- 
dall's Early, which is the earliest of the improved varieties, and has 
a very long fruiting season. The fruit was named after Dr. J. R. 
Crandall, of Auburn, who first fruited the variety from plants given 
him by a stranger hailing from Texas, and the proper name of the 
variety is probably Texas Early. It is a strong, vigorous, hardy 
plant, very productive, of firm, handsome berries ; resembles Lawton 
in canes, leaves, and flavor of fruit; not given to sprouting from 
running roots. 

Another variety which has advanced in favor is the Oregon 
Evergreen, introduced from Oregon but not native nor originated 
in that State. The late John Rock described it as follows : "Origin 
unknown ; beautiful ; cut-leaved foliage, which it retains during the 
winter ; berries large, black, sweet, rich, and delicious. It continues 
to ripen from July to November, which makes it one of the best 
berries for family use." It loses size and quality notably on scant 
moisture. 

Some effort has been made to secure improved varieties of our 
native blackberry, and a most striking result has been secured by 
Judge J. H. Logan, of Santa Cruz, by crossing the wild berry with 
Crandall's Early, producing a fruit so large that it has been named 
"Mammoth" by its originator. The canes of the Mammoth are very 
peculiar, being very large and thickly covered with small, short 
spines. The canes start early in March, grow thick and stout until 
about five feet high. They then take on a running habit and grow 
from twenty-five to thirty feet in a season. Late in the fall the tips 
or stolons seek the ground and take root. The Mammoth is not an 
evergreen like its Texas parent, although it does not entirely lose its 
leaves in winter. It begins to grow and flower very early in spring 
and ripens its fruit the last of May, some weeks earlier than the 
Lawton. The fruit is more acid than the Lawton, but, when per- 
fectly ripe, is sweet and of superior flavor. When cooked or canned 
the flavor is identical with the wild berry of California. This variety 
is often wrongly called "Black Loganberry." 

The Himalaya is a blackberry of wonderful growth and prolific- 
ness, highly praised by amateurs, but not important from a commer- 



TRAILING BLACKBERRIES 4|5 

cial point of view — except, perhaps, for local markets. It is magnifi- 
cent on a garden fence or trellis. 

Several varieties of "thornless blackberries" have been intro- 
duced by Mr. Burbank and others, and, after fuller trial, some of 
them may be expected to become popular. 

The Dewberry. — The improved varieties of the dewberry, or 
trailing blackberry, are now quite widely known and highly praised, 
but are chiefly grown for home use. Some growers use trellises ; 
others train the vines along rows on the ground surface. The 
following is the method of Mr. A. M, Munger, of Fresno, and 
includes irrigation arrangements : 

For planting the Liicretia dewberry, prepare the ground by plowing 
deep and cultivating until the dirt is thoroughly pulverized. Set the plants 
about three inches deep and four feet apart, in rows, leaving a space of six 
feet between the rows. Plant between February 15th and March 15th. Ir- 
rigate as often as once a month, always thoroughly cultivating after each 
irrigation. By so doing a sufficient growth is secured to produce a good 
crop the second year. Immediately after the first rainfall, generally in 
October, the vines should be pruned by cutting back within about sixteen 
inches of the base of the vine. 

In February of the second year, plow between the rows with a small 
one-horse plow, turning the furrows toward the vines, but using a shield so 
as not to cover them. Follow immediately with a hoe, drawing the dirt 
up under the vines and forming a ridge. This ridge should be high enough 
to keep the vines up out of the water when irrigating. After this ridge 
is formed, water should be run quite often, as the dewberry requires a great 
deal of water to mature properly. The vines should be irrigated as often 
as three times at least during the spring. The fruit begins to ripen in 
Fresno about May 25th, and continues about one month. The dewberry 
roots readily from the tips without covering if the soil is loose and moist. 
If many plants are desired it is advisable to cover slightly, and the tips 
will root as soon as the soil is moistened by the fall rains. 

A trellising method for dewberries consists in driving posts to 
stand about three feet high, for the dewberry can not be trained 
up as high as other berries. Make a half hoop of coarse wire extend- 
ing from the root of the plant over the arms at top of the post and 
training the plants on this. The rows are usually six feet apart and 
the plants six feet apart in the rows. The vines should be well 
thinned to produce large berries. 

What may be called a clean sweep with Lucretia dewberries is 
thus described by Mr. A. H. King, a very successful grower of 
St. Helena, Napa County : 

In the fall I planted 1500 dewberry plants six feet apart, in rows with 
seven feet distances. I made trellises by setting posts firmly in the ground 
at the ends of each row, and driving four-foot grape stakes every twelve 
feet along the rows. Number twelve wire was stretched between the 
posts and stapled on top of the stakes. The next fall there was plenty 
of long vines which I gathered up, two or three at a time, and wound in 
long turns around the wire, tucking one end under now and then to keep 
vines from unwinding. The canes were arranged on the wire so as to 
be fan shaped from the stump upward to the wire. The following year, 
a very heavy crop of fruit ripened from the ground to the top of the 
trellis and along the wire. The new growth started early, and soon cov- 
ered not only the trellis but filled up all the space between the rows, 
making it difficult to get the berries and preventing irrigation. When it 



416 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

came to cutting out the old wood and placing new vines on the trellis, 
I found it a long, bad job. 

When the new growth started next year, I cut it off as close to the 
fruiting wood as possible, but I cut it too early and the vines started to 
grow, and, by the time the fruit was ripe, it was well covered with the 
rank growth and it was nearly as hard work to cut out the old vines as 
the year before, and besides there were few long canes to put on the 
trellis. The next year I waited till the fruit was nearly ready to gather, 
then cut the new vines off as before and irrigated freely, and, when the 
berries ripened, they were easily and quickly gathered. About the 10th of 
July the year after the crop was all picked, I cut off all the vines, new 
and old, then burned the vines between the rows, and for once I had a 
clean field. Plowing a furrow on each side of all the rows, I irrigated 
freely and in two weeks had a nice new growth of vines started, and, at 
the end of the growing season, the vines were eight to ten feet long and as 
straight as a string and were easily put on the trellis, as they were not 
tangled as before. 

I wondered if canes grown so late in the season would bear a crop, 
but the next season the fruit hung like black ropes along the wire and 
down the canes to the ground. Now I follow this method each year, and 
have never failed to get a good crop. When the new growth is left to 
grow all the season it sends out a lot of laterals, which become very 
much tangled, and, in cutting them out to place on the wire, they are 
injured so they often die the next season. By cutting everything clear, 
the ground can be plowed and the next growth is straight with the 
laterals. 

The dewberry which has recently been most largely planted in 
Central and Southern California is known as the Gardena because 
of the prolificness and profitability of a patch grown by W. M. 
Gray, of Gardena, Los Angeles County. Its qualities are vigorous 
growth, hardiness, regular and profuse yield of large, early berries. 
The Lucretia is still popular. 

Pruning and Training Trailing Berries. — With reference to the 
handling of trailing blackberries and the blackberry-raspberry 
hybrids which are continually becoming more popular, it may be 
said that there is no one best way. There are several good ways, 
according to the desires and convenience of the growers, and this 
is the reason why there is an apparent conflict in which all con- 
testants may be right, each from his own point of view. The 
varieties are sufficiently alike to be discussed together. What seem 
to us the essentials in pruning them are these : 

First, they all (except the Himalaya, as will be noted later) bear 
on canes which grow the previous year, and the fruit comes on 
laterals which break from them. In this mild climate there is con- 
tinuous break of laterals which may cover quite a long period and 
the same wood may seem to be bearing twice. This second bearing 
is of so little account that the general rule to remove old wood after 
its main fruiting is a good one. 

Second, the wood which grows this year will therefore bear next 
year, and will send out bearing laterals sufficiently with a number 
of treatments. The new cane may be pinched at any time during 
growth and it will then send wood laterals (not fruit laterals) at 
once and each of these laterals will have the same character that 
the main shoot would have had if it had not been pinched ; that is, 




Plate XIV.— The Loganberry.— (See page 425.) 



PRUNING BLACKBERRIES 4J7 

it will send out fruiting laterals at the same date the following 
season. 

Third, it does not matter whether you make the new growth 
bunchy by laterals following pinching or whether you let it run out 
and cut off part of it at the end of the growing season or whether 
you shorten it in and at the same time cut away closely all the 
laterals which it may have made on its own account when it was 
running out. In all cases there will be dormant buds enough to give 
fruiting shoots on whatever part of the cane you reserve. 

Fourth, the way you prune, then, depends upon serving your 
own convenience in the training of these shoots up to a post, along 
on a wire or along on a ridge on the ground — whatever suits you 
best to keep the fruit out of the dirt, and to promote such cultiva- 
tion as is desirable, etc., will be accepted by the plant as not inter- 
fering with its starting fruiting shoots from whatever dormant buds 
you have allowed it to retain on the wood which it matured the 
previous season. 

Fifth, there is in addition the application of the principle that 
good large fruit is the product of a plant which is not carrying too 
much bearing wood ; that is, is not endeavoring to perfect too much 
fruit at the same time. For this reason, as well as for convenience, 
it is desirable not to allow a plant to retain all the cane it grows, 
but to shorten it or to remove the laterals or part of them or to 
shorten the laterals or in any other way to require the plant to direct 
its energy to the better development of fewer fruits. 

Sixth, growers are, of course, influenced by different considera- 
tions. Amateur growers delighting in running vines on fences or 
trellises would not prune as would a commercial grower, who can 
not have canes running all over his fields. The amateur can pinch a 
main shoot and send the laterals up the arms of a fan-shaped treUis 
if he likes and make an object of rare garden beauty, and he can 
reduce the excess of bearing wood by cutting away the parts of the 
laterals which run beyond his arms or extra ones beyond those he 
can carry on his trellis. From the point of view of the plant, he 
does the same thing that the commercial grower does when he 
comes along with his scythe or sickle and cuts away indiscrim- 
inately all the growth which goes beyond the space where it is con- 
venient for him to have the fruit. 

Seventh, do not be too particular about exact methods to imitate ; 
try rather to discern principles which may be served by many dif- 
ferent methods. 

Six Months Fruiting of Crandalls. — One way in which the prin- 
ciples just outlined may be applied to Crandall's Early, which is our 
leading blackberry, considering the State as a whole, is described by 
Mr. R. E. Hodges as the practice of Mr. T. B. Cannon, of Los 
Angeles : 

Briars eighteen to twenty-four inches tall, having good root systems, 
are set with a spade in finely pulverized soil as soon after they are dug 
as possible, to avoid wilting, to the same depth as they were before, four 
feet apart in rows eight feet apart. The first year they require no pruning. 



4Jg CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The space between rows is occupied by cabbage, beans, corn, potatoes, 

etc. 

In the second year three or four new canes come up. When these are four 
feet high, cut ofif six inches, and laterals start from the leaf axis. When 
these are thirty inches long their end buds are cut off and they send out 
blossoms which bear fruit that fall. These same laterals bear the main 
crop in their second year, besides sending out new laterals near the base 
of the old ones about the time the berries are well set. The new laterals 
bear the second crop, which comes on about the time the first crop is 
gone. The third crop, borne on the new canes, which have been cut back 
meanwhile to three and one-half feet, blossom from August till freezing, 
and the berries ripen from September on. 

Mr. Cannon has followed this plan with satisfaction on two or three 
patches, the largest of which is a half-acre set seven years ago in the 
young family orchard. The first crop from this half-acre in 1913 was 180 
crates. The second and third crops usually together equal two-fifths of 
the first. The second is about half of the third. Two years ago the third 
alone almost equalled the first. And the berries sometime* sell at $2.80 
per crate after October. 

Growing Crandalls in Hedge Rows. — A method which aims at 
economy in getting a main crop, without providing for succession, 
is that of Mr. J, B. Wagner, of Pasadena. He uses no trellises, but 
leaves the old canes in the hedge-row to support the new growth, in 
this way : 

On the day before berry picking, all protruding new growth is cut back 
as close as possible to the blanket of bearing canes which covers the mat 
of dead ones. This removes all hindrance to picking. Do not leave stubs 
of new wood above the bearing vines, because it raises the general level of 
bearing wood in a year or two, so high that the pickers can scarcely reach 
over and up to the center of the row. When picking is over, both sides 
of the hedge-row are trimmed off clean till it is left only two feet wide. 
New growth soon leans out over this and covers it, ready for a crop next 
year with the berries well outside and handy for the pickers. Every six 
years he trims the whole hedge back to a height of two feet and clears 
out all the cane over a year old, and this renews the plantation. 

Training the Mammoth. — A good way with the Mammoth, 
grown in a commercial way, is described by Mr. Tribble as follows : 

The Mammoth is one of the earliest of blackberries, very productive 
and is one of the most delicious. The plants are propagated from rooted 
tips which appear on the ends of the vines during the winter months. 
Mammoths are usually trained on a wire trellis made by driving posts at 
each hill and nailing on cross-arms to support the wire, which is stapled 
to each end of the cross-arms. The laterals are trained along the wire 
about half way between the hills, and then cut off to cause them to throw 
out fruit spurs. As soon as the crop is taken from the old canes they 
s4iould be taken out and the new canes trained on the trellis as before. 

Training the Himalaya. — Success with the Himalaya blackberry 
is wholly dependent upon proper pruning, and whether it be grown 
upon an arbor or a fence or upon a low trellis, the same principles 
must be applied. This variety bears on the same laterals year after 
year. It is late to ripen, coming after the Mammoths are all gone. 

The main purposes in training Himalayas are to keep the canes 
free from intertwining and the fruit accessible for picking. The 
following is a good way to attain both these ends : 

Use two horizontal wires about two and four feet above the ground, 
fastened securely to plenty of stakes, for the load will be heavy. Durmg 



CRANBERRY AND CURRANT 4]^9 

the winter hang the vines to the wires by means of short pieces of wire, 
which will last three or four years, after which they may be cut with 
pliers and the old vines taken out. Hang them instead of twisting around 
the wire, for they are vicious vines to handle, and a mess of twisted vines 
harbors insects and disease and rotting cane growth. The past season's 
new canes, thus hung up, will continue to grow in length until you pinch 
ofif the tips. The roots should not be closer than 12 to 16 feet apart each 
way, and not over half a dozen canes should be left on each. 

The following summer these canes will throw out fruit spurs which will 
bear 30 to 75 berries each, the tip berries ripening first along in July. 
These spurs will be less than a foot apart and project outward from the 
trellis so that picking is easy. But the vines will also throw out laterals 
among the fruit spurs, and these laterals will grow several feet in the sea- 
son. Those nearest the base will be longest, but all would be serious 
hindrances for pickers; so just before the first picking, cut off all the 
laterals close to the main vines. This will not interfere with fruiting 
next season, and it will leave the berries where the pickers need scarcely 
touch a vine. If the laterals were fastened to the wires or wound around 
them, they would take strength needed by the ripening berries and choke 
off the fruit spurs, besides being in the way. 

In the summer there will be new runners from the roots, and two of 
these should be saved and directed one each way along the ground under 
the wires by means of little stakes, for the first season. Keep the rest 
cut off at the root. Repeating this year after year will renew the wood 
continuously as it gets too old to bear well, which is after the fourth or 
fifth year. 

The roots will send up new plants between the rows and these will be 
good for transplanting. Whether used or not, they should be rigidly 
grubbed out every winter. 

THE CRANBERRY 

Though attention has been given to experiments with the growth 
of the cranberry in California for many years, it has not been 
demonstrated that the culture is successful or profitable. Cran- 
berries have been produced, and the fruit shown at fairs, but beyond 
this nothing has been accomplished. It would seem to be a fair 
conclusion that even in the most moist regions our summer air is 
too dry to suit the plant. There seems, however, no incentive to 
grow cranberries in California. The Oregon product from a few 
plantations near the mouth of the Columbia river seems to be all 
that we need to put up a fight with the fruit from Wisconsin and 
Cape Cod. 

THE CURRANT 

The currant reaches perfection in size and quality in parts of 
California adapted to its growth, but its area is comparatively small. 
The plant does not thrive in the dry, heated air of the interior either 
at the north or south. It does well near the coast, especially in the 
upper half of the State, and is grown for market chiefly, on lands 
adjacent to the Bay of San Francisco. The comparatively cool and 
moist air of the ocean favors it, but even here the sunburn, which 
is the bane of its existence in the interior valleys, occasionally in- 
jures the fruit. Away from the coast, currants are grown to a 
limited extent along the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, near 
their confluence, but not in the hot valleys whence they flow. On 



420 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

the foothills, too, where the plant has a northerly slope, or other 
cooling influence, and sufficiently moist soil, it will do moderately 
well. At elevations in Southern California, where the late apple 
reaches good quality, currants are also grown to some extent. It 
is quite possible that the currant may be satisfactorily grown for 
home use, or for local market in parts of the State where at present 
one does not find it, providing the moderating effect of elevation 
and northerly exposure, coupled with the shade of trees, be secured, 
but even then the hot north wind of the early summer may often 
injure the fruit. So far as the metropolitan market is concerned, 
it does not matter that the currant area is limited, for existing 
plantations produce all, and sometimes more, than can be profitably 
disposed of at present. It is possible, however, that the future may 
show a larger demand, for the pure food laws prevent the further 
selling of apple jelly with a currant color and flavor under the name 
of currant jelly. 

Propagation. — The currant is readily grown from cuttings. As 
soon as the bush drops its leaves, and the ground is in condition as 
to moisture, secure the cuttings about a foot in length from straight 
wood of the last growth, and place them in nursery or in permanent 
place, in good sandy or garden loam, deeply spaded and well broken 
up. Set the cutting firmly in the earth, six or seven inches deep. 
If they are to be trained as small trees, every bud below where the 
lowest limb is to start should be cut out — even to the end of the 
cutting underground — otherwise they will be continually throwing 
up suckers. If they are to grow as bushes, the natural and more 
productive form of the currant, set them as they are taken from 
the parent bush. 

Pruning. — If the currant is to be grown in tree form, the 
four to six feet apart, the plants standing two and a half or three 
feet apart in the rows. Most of the currant plantations are between 
orchard rows, the partial shade of the trees being considered desir- 
able. It is claimed that currants do best when interplanted with 
cherry, apricot, apple, and pear, not so well when associated with 
plum and peach, and the almond is least desirable — possibly because 
the almond is often given less cultivation than the pulpy fruit or is 
grown on lighter, drier soils. The cultivation is such as is usually 
given to the orchard, except that in heavy soil the plow is not 
allowed to come near the cuttings the first season for fear of tearing 
them from their rooting. After the first year the plow is used in 
the winter and the cultivator in summer. 

Currants will repay generous applications of well-rotted manure, 
and relish sufficient moisture in the soil. Where this can not be had 
from rainfall, and retained by cultivation and mulching, irrigation 
must be resorted to. 

Pruning. — If the currant is to be grown in tree form the 
branches from the upper buds of the cutting should be shortened 
in at the end of the first summer, and branches growing horizontally 
should be removed. The weaker shoots in the head are thinned 



THE GOOSEBERRY 



421 



out, but not so much as to leave the top too open. If the plant is 
to grow as a bush, the only winter pruning will consist in removing 
dead wood, or wood attacked by borers, and thinning the new shoots 
as may seem desirable, and cutting back half or more of the new 
growth. Summer pinching of the new growth is desirable, as it 
causes the fruit to set closely and tends to a thick growth of foliage 
also, and this is necessary, for the bark is liable to sunburn, and 
the best fruit is that which is well sheltered by the leaves. Another 
advantage of the bush form is the less likelihood of killing by borers, 
which is imminent when the growth depends upon a single stem. 
Well cared for bushes will bear profitably until about ten years old. 
Replanting should be made on new ground. 

Bearing. — The currant bears a quantity of excellent fruit the 
second year from the cutting, and reaches its fullest product about 
the fifth to the eighth year, when the yield in the Hayward region 
is said to range from one and a half to three tons to the acre. 

Varieties. — The Cherry currant is the prevailing variety, and 
Fay's Prolific stands next, although the old sorts, the Red and White 
Dutch, the Red and White Grape, etc., are grown in some localities. 
Pomona is one of the best of the newer red varieties and the old 
Fertile de Palluau is reported as doing better than others in hot, in- 
terior situations. Black currants are but little grown, the market 
demand for them being very light. Black Naples is best of its kind 
in California. 

THE GOOSEBERRY 

The gooseberry is another fruit with very circumscribed area in 
this State. In localities which favor it, the fruit is often found very 
profitable, but the demand does not warrant any great increase of 
product. Though the gooseberry thrives in some situations which 
do not suit the currant, they may both be described as averse to the 
hot and dry parts of the State. Still, for home use or local sale one 
can grow certain varieties of gooseberries successfully, by protect- 
ing them from too great exposure to the sun, and by keeping the 
soil sufficiently rich and moist. The choice of varieties is of the 
greatest importance, as will be mentioned presently. At present the 
chief supplies of the gooseberry, as of the currant, are produced 
in the country adjacent to San Francisco Bay, though thriving and 
profitable plantations are found elsewhere near the coast, as at Green- 
field, Monterey County ; here and there in the interior, and at con- 
siderable elevations on the slope of the Sierra Nevada. 

Propagation, Pruning, etc. — The gooseberry is grown from cut- 
tings, very much as already described for the currant. The common 
and the best method is to start the cuttings early in the winter, 
though some have succeeded with cuttings taken in the spring just 
as the new growth is starting out. Disbudding the lower part of 
the cutting if it is desired to train in tree form is also practised 
with the gooseberry, but a smaller percentage of cuttings is found 
to grow after disbudding. 



422 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Gooseberries are planted out and cultivated as already described 
for currants, and the requirements of the plant in soil, moisture, and 
manuring, are much the same. 

If the gooseberry is to be grown in tree form, constant attention 
to removal of suckers is necessary ; if in bush form, it will only be 
necessary to remove too old wood and thin out the new shoots. 
Suckers should be removed clean from the stem, so as to eradicate 
the latent buds, and pulling off with a gloved hand, when the suckers 
become woody enough to withstand breaking, is advised. As with the 
currant, the borer is a constant menace to the life of a gooseberry 
plant confined to a single stem. 

Diseases and Pests. — The gooseberry is subject to insect depre- 
dation both in wood and fruit and leaf. The prevailing trouble, 
however, and that which causes the failure of so many foreign 
kinds, is the mildew. To escape this nothing is usually done except 
to select varieties not subject to the disease, but susceptible varieties 
can be protected by sulphuring at first appearance of the trouble or 
by spraying just as the leaves are opening and once a month after- 
wards with ammonium sulphide, half an ounce to the gallon of water. 
This does not stain nor poison the fruit. 

There is great difference in the occurrence of mildew in different 
localities. Great danger seems to inhere in the association of heat 
and moisture in the air — neither heat nor moisture being favorable 
to it separately. Mr. E. C. Hall of Greenfield, in the Salinas Valley, 
Monterey County, gives this as the result of his observation: 

Better than a mildew resistant gooseberry bush in a way is a mildew 
resistant locality and climate as well. In some places, gooseberries mil- 
dew; other places they do not. There is one condition of climate very 
essential to success commercially, and that is a cool, dry atmosphere 
through the growing season. If you have it hot through the day with 
foggy, wet mornings, success is doubtful. I have tested out some twelve 
or fifteen kinds, both American and English, and I have yet to find one 
kind subject to mildew. 

Still to the general planter resistance to mildew is very im- 
portant. 

Varieties of the Gooseberry. — The American varieties, Downing 
and Houghton's Seedling, chiefly the latter, constitute the main 
varieties marketed in San Francisco. Early experiments with col- 
lections of English varieties showed that most of them failed because 
of mildew ; still a few of the green and white sorts, notably the 
Whitesmith, have succeeded. The proportion of large berries now 
being marketed is much greater than formerly, and the superior price 
warrants especial effort to produce them. 

A large English variety, which was brought to California many 
years ago, is a widely distributed large kind for which the name 
Berkeley now prevails. It is large and handsome, very prolific, rip- 
ens early, and is usually free from mildew. 

The Champion, an Oregon seedling grown by Seth Lewelling, is 
medium sized, very smooth, and thick fleshed, the seeds being few 
and small. They are free from mildew, and are clean, bright and 



GROWING RASPBERRIES 423 

beautiful. The Columbus, another large variety, is of good quality 
and resists mildew well. 

A remarkable gooseberry is the Trebla, originated by Mr. Albert 
F. Etter, of Ettersburg, Humboldt County, as a natural hybrid be- 
tween the wild species (divaricatum) and the Champion growing 
nearby. The fruit, which is about the size of a red currant and dark 
purple when ripe, has a flavor between the gooseberry and currant, 
but much stronger, and for culinary purposes may replace the red 
currant in places where the latter does not thrive. 

THE MULBERRY 

Nearly all varieties of the mulberry have been introduced in 
California and grown rapidly and thriftily. Most attention has 
been paid to those varieties most suitable for feeding silkworms, 
but the fruiting varieties are also grown here, though the fruit has 
assumed no commercial importance. The mulberry is grown readily 
from cuttings. The fruiting varieties thus far chiefly distributed 
are Lick's American, Chinese, the Persian, the New American, the 
Russian, and the Black Mulberry of Spain. All these bear large 
and desirable fruit. The mulberry has a long season; the Persian 
ripening from the last of May and continuously thereafter until 
October. 

THE RASPBERRY 

The raspberry is another of the great small fruits of California. 
It thrives over a great area of the State; in fact, there are few 
situations in which it can not be grown with at least a measure of 
success if proper attention is given to retention of moisture in the 
surface soil, and to giving the plants partial shade in the heated 
valleys, and choosing the cooler exposures in the foothills. The rasp- 
berry, skillfully pruned and generously fed and cared for, is almost 
a constant bearer, as has already been intimated. It is a continual 
delight in the home garden, and always brings a high average rate 
in local and metropolitan markets. But it must be remembered that 
the raspberry is insistent upon adequate moisture in the soil and re- 
quires good cultivation and irrigation — even in localities where the 
rainfall is considerable and the soil retentive. Neglected raspberry 
plants are likely to die outright in summer or early autumn even 
where blackberries may pull through. _ 

The culture of the raspberry is in the main like that of the black- 
berry, as already described. The red varieties, which are the kinds 
almost exclusively grown in this State, are propagated by suckers 
and root cuttings like the blackberry, but the "black caps" are 
propagated by layering the cane tips during the growing season, and 
this method is also necessary in the loganberry and other blackberry- 
raspberry hybrids. Bending down a cane with its branches and cov- 
ering lightly with soil and with a light mulch to retain moisture, 
will result in free rooting of the buried parts, and one can sometimes 
secure a dozen plants by the layering of a single cane with its 



424 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

laterals. If this is done early in the fall rootings for winter planting 
can be had. 

The pruning of the raspberry is also by the renewal system, as 
advised for the blackberry. The topping off of new canes, when 
they reach about three feet in height, the subsequent pinching of 
the laterals which are thus forced out, the resolute thinning out of 
sprouts so that but three or four strong canes are allowed from one 
root, the faithful repression of all weeds, the maintenance of a loose 
surface layer of the soil by very shallow cultivation, the free 
application of manure and of water unless a continually moist con- 
dition near the surface can be secured by cultivation and mulching — 
all these are among the essentials of cultivation which will secure 
abundant fruit and a long bearing season. However, as has already 
been stated with regard to blackberries, there are large plantations 
which pursue a less careful system of cultivation, especially in the 
moderate heat and drouth of the coast district. 

Continuous bearing of the raspberry may be secured in those 
varieties which endure the treatment, by cutting out a cane as soon 
as its fruit is gathered, the force of the plant being then devoted 
to the fruiting of a second cane, which has previously been pinched, 
and a third shoot is pinched and allowed to mature its wood to 
carry over and bear the first crop of the following year. A suc- 
cession of sprouts is gained by pinching off the tips of some as soon 
as they have grown up a few inches, which results in the growth of 
later shoots lower on the stems. In this way a succession of fruit 
is obtained. 

The Cuthbert and other strong-growing varieties, after the pinch- 
ing at about three feet from the ground, will send out laterals which 
will bear late in the fall, and the same cane will bear a crop early 
in the following spring, when its career is ended and it should be 
removed. 

Raspberries are planted about three feet apart in rows, and the 
rows about six feet apart. They can be well grown nearer together 
than is required for blackberries. 

Growth in Matted Rows. — Many raspberries are grown in matted 
rows 2 to 4 feet wide and 5 to 7 feet between the rows. The greater 
distance is preferred because it cheapens the picking and admits 
more light. The new growth sometimes runs up eight or ten feet, but 
in December all canes are cut back about two feet above ground. 
Then all those that have borne fruit are cut off at the ground with 
a hooked knife on the end of a round handle a foot long. All ex- 
cept five or six of the strongest canes per running foot are also 
cut off entirely. If any are to be planted elsewhere or sold for 
plants, their roots are loosened with a spade ; the canes of the past 
season's growth are pulled out and cut back about a foot for this 
purpose. The vigorous canes that remain for the next crop send 
out three to five vigorous laterals in the spring. About the time 
these are nearly shoulder-high to a short man the freest growing 
ones are pinched back to force the growth into fruit spurs which 



LOGAN AND PHENOMENAL BERRIES 425 

develop from the leaf axils on as many as a dozen of these laterals 
per cane. 

A Raspberry Trellis. — Mr. Louis F. Scribner, a well-known 
berry grower of Pasadena, commends a double-wire trellis made in 
this way : 

At each end of a row a post should be deeply set and firmly anchored 
by brace or anchor wire, and a 2x3 redwood or cedar post should be set 
about every 20 feet in the row and a wire stretched on each side about 
three feet from the ground. These wires when stretched will be the 
width of the post in distance apart, and serve to keep the canes erect and 
in the row where they belong, so that cultivation and picking will not 
destroy the tender growth. The field should be gone over at intervals and 
canes drawn up between the wires when long enough. 

Behavior of varieties under pruning varies greatly. Surprise can be 
pruned to advantage when dormant, but if cut back when sap is flowing 
and weather is hot they often die. This variety will bear two crops if 
handled right and none at all if abused. A variety like the Idaho needs 
very little if any cutting back, and the Superlative likes to swing grace- 
fully over the trellis. The good old Cuthbert should be cut back with 
care, leaving as much cane as can be supported by the wires. The Red 
Antwerp is much like the Cuthbert. The Ruby, Miller, London, Herbert 
and St. Regis are all good varieties and require about the same care. The 
latter variety gives out an abundant sucker growth, which is not desirable 
when not confined. 

Varieties o£ the Raspberry. — The Cuthbert, the universally 
popular and most largely planted sort, is a profuse grower, with 
healthy and rich foilage, which protects fruit from sunburn ; an ex- 
cellent bearer, with the fruit well distributed through the bush; the 
fruit comes off easily, and does not crumble, is of fine flavor, and 
ships well. The Hansel and Red Antwerp and several newer varieties 
mentioned above by Mr. Scribner are grown to a limited extent — the 
St. Regis leading because of quickly coming into bearing and long 
seasonal production. 

The Black Cap varieties thrive fairly in most parts of the State, 
but only limited quantities sell well in the markets. The golden or 
yellow raspberries are also out of favor, because they are shy bearers 
and cut no figure in the California product, but are esteemed by 
amateurs. 

LOGANBERRY AND PHENOMENAL 

These two trailing berries, which originated in California, have 
been for many years held to be products of hybridization, as will 
be stated below.* Recently they have been pronounced not hy- 
brids, but variants of the native trailing blackberry of this State. 
In this connection the question is unimportant and may be deposited 
with the botanists who have raised it. 

The Loganberry was originated by Judge J. H. Logan of Santa 
Cruz, and is a cross between the California wild blackberry and a 
red raspberry, thought to be the Red Antwerp. It was a chance 
hybrid developed by growing plants from the seed of the wild black- 
berry in 1881. The plant was multiplied by its originator and fruited 

*"The Logan Blackberry and Related Varieties," by George M. Darrow. Farmers' Bul- 
letin No. 998. U. S. Dept. of Agr.. 1918. 



426 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

for more than ten years, plants being meantime given to Mr. James 
Waters, of Watsonville, who grew it on a commercial scale and was 
gratified at the results of his marketing of the fruit. The variety was 
first given to the public through the University of California in 1893 
and has proved a most valuable fruit in all parts of California not 
only as fresh fruit but as a source of juice and jam products which 
have unique characters. The Loganberry is an exceedingly robust 
grower, and has unique foliage and cane growth as well as fruit. 
The fruit is strikingly large and handsome ; sometimes an inch and a 
quarter long, with the shape of a blackberry, and sometimes the hue 
of a dark red raspberry. The flavor is unique and peculiar, and gives 
to many tastes suggestions of the combination of blackberry and rasp- 
berry flavors. The culture of the Loganberry is like that of the dew- 
berry — both in growth and propagation, rooting readily from cane 
tips without covering, unless many plants are desired, and then a 
covered cane will root at each joint. 

The Phenomenal is a hybrid which is grown for a trade which 
prefers a less sharp acid than that of the Loganberry. It originated 
with Mr. Luther Burbank, of Santa Rosa, and is a cross between 
the California dewberry and a red raspberry. It is exceedingly 
large, bright crimson, very productive and of delicious flavor. The 
fruit comes in large clusters and single berries have weighed four 
to the ounce. In shipping it holds shape and color well. The 
Phenomenal is counted about one week later than the Loganberry. 

Trellising for Hybrid Berries. — The discussion and methods for 
training the trailing blackberries, already given at much length in 
this chapter, apply also to the Loganberry and Phenomenal. A 
special arrangement commended for the Loganberry is the following: 

Plant the rows eight feet apart and vines four feet apart in the row. 
Use common fence posts for trellising, setting them sixteen or twenty 
feet apart, four feet high after they are set; then measure from top of post 
one foot down and nail a two-foot crosspiece; use three wires, stapling 
one to the top of the posts and one on each side to the ends of the cross- 
pieces. This gives a nice oval surface with three times the room as having 
the wires one above the other on the post. The new growth is allowed to 
run on the ground all summer while last year's wood on the trellis is 
bearing a crop. The new growth is not much in the way, for its laterals 
do not develop till picking is over. Immediately after this or any time up 
to the next spring, the canes which bore this year are cut en masse from 
their low trellis and the new growth is lifted from the ground, spread on 
the trellis and tied securely to the wires. 



THE STRAWBERRY 

"Strawberries all the year round" is the trite expression by 
which the charms of the California climate are characterized. It 
is no fiction, for in the wonderfully even climate of the regions 
adjacent to the coast and in thermal belts in the interior, the straw- 
berry plant blooms and bears almost continuously, providing proper 
moisture conditions are maintained in the soil. There are, however, 
two or three more or less well-defined crops. The occurrence of 



SOILS FOR STRAWBERRIES 42/ 

these crops during the season and the relation of irrigation to them 
in the Sevastopol district of Sonoma county is thus described: 

We commence cultivating as soon as the ground can possibly be 
worked in the spring and continue with a very thorough cultivation until 
the first crop nearly reaches maturity. From this time until the first crop 
is nearly over, the weeds are pulled by hand, being careful not to disturb 
the surface of the ground too much close to the plants. 

As soon as the first crop is about gone, the first irrigation is given. 
This is continued until the second crop is well on its way, at the same 
time cultivating thoroughly, but not too deep or too close to the plant. 

During the harvesting of the second crop in June and the first part of 
July, the irrigating is lessened to quite an extent. As soon as the second 
crop is off, the water is kept off entirely for about three weeks. 

Irrigation is then commenced again and kept up continuously until 
fall. In about three weeks after this fall irrigation is commenced, the 
new leaves and buds commence to appear, and in a short time the field 
looks as fresh and fine as it did in the spring. By October 1 the fall or 
third crop is being harvested. The berries are of an exceedingly fine 
flavor, color and size, and sell at fancy prices. 

"Strawberries all the year" does not mean a uniform supply ; 
nor does it mean that everywhere in California can one expect such 
constant fruiting. In the very hot interior situations the plant rebels 
against the atmospheric conditions of midsummer, even though the 
ground be moist; and in frosty places the plants become dormant 
during the wintry portion of the year. The conditions of constant 
growth and bearing are moderation of temperature and of atmospheric 
and soil moisture throughout the year. 

Situations and Soils for the Strawberry. — Bearing in mind the 
conditions described, the strawberry can be grown anywhere in 
California. The native species, as mentioned in Chapter V, flourish 
from the sand of the ocean beach to the rich valleys of the Sierra, 
just below the line of perpetual snow, and the deduction is that 
wherever fertile soil and sweet water can be brought together in 
California, the strawberry will reward the grower. 

Strawberries do well on a variety of soils, but as a rule a deep, 
moist, loamy soil will yield best results. Boggy or swampy spots 
should be avoided unless drainage is provided, and in this way most 
excellent strawberry ground may sometimes be secured. Land which 
will produce good potatoes or corn will generally yield good results 
with strawberries, provided irrigation is furnished. In many regions 
the plants will hardly survive the summer without irrigation and 
everywhere a succession of crops during the season depends upon 
irrigation. It is the common experience that light, warm soils yield 
the earliest and highest-flavored berries, and heavy soils the later and 
larger ones; but the size of the berry depends more upon the supply 
of available moisture, and immense fruit can be produced on loose, 
open soils by free irrigation. And yet the heavier soil, both because 
of its usually superior fertility and retention of moisture, is preferred 
for the strawberry. The largest producing regions for the San Fran- 
cisco market in the Santa Clara and Pajaro Valleys are comprised 
mainly of low-lying, heavy valley soils naturally moist and rich, and 
furnished with abundant water supply for irrigation. And yet in 
southern California the chief market crops are produced upon light 



428 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

sandy loams with water equal to the needs of the plants upon such a 
footing. It must be remembered that the strawberry is a shallow- 
rooting plant and must have moisture retained near the surface. 
Some loose soils, especially on uplands, are almost out of the question 
for strawberry growing. They are so leachy that they will not hold 
moisture near the surface though one should stand with a hose and 
almost continually pour it on. The plants would also dry up though 
the water were running near by in a ditch. To grow strawberries 
it is often an advantage to have a shallow loam over clay or hard- 
pan, for then the tight layer below will prevent the escape of the 
water below the reach of the roots. If this can not be had, the best 
way to grow strawberries on leachy soils for home use is to mulch 
and sprinkle. 

Propagation of the Strawberry. — Seedlings undertaken in the 
hope of originating valuable new varieties are easily grown by 
taking ofif the outside layer of the choicest berries, which carries 
with it the small, yellow seeds. Wash these from the skin and 
cover them slightly in a sandy soil partially shaded and kept moist 
by sprinkling, or a light mulch, and the plants are readily grown. 
As with seedlings of other fruits, few if any, will be found superior 
to the parent variety. 

Plants for setting out are secured by tafling off the small growths 
rooted from runners. The strongest plants are those nearest to the 
parent plant. When these are allowed to root in small pots plunged 
into the soil, they are called "pot-grown," and are superior for plant- 
ing out, but they are not largely used in this State. When plants of 
any variety are desired for new beds or fields, a row or more are 
allowed to send out runners during the summer, and these are fit 
for taking up and replanting the following winter or spring. 

Laying Off Ground for Strawberries. — The essentials are deep 
and thorough pulverization of the soil and grading of the surface 
so that water will flow slowly in the ditches. The inclination which 
answers for water distribution may be very slight; about two inches 
to the hundred feet answers on the level lands of the Pajaro Valley, 
while in the foothills much greater fall is made use of, and on hill- 
sides, rows are located on contour lines and not in straight lines. 
A grade of three and three-quarters inches to the hundred feet is 
sometimes used. The triangle described in Chapter XV can be used 
to fix the grades. 

Of course, in grading the field it is often necessary to give ad- 
jacent blocks opposite inclinations to provide for the return of the 
water. On hillsides, where the water is carried down a ridge to a 
flume, it is usual to keep the water always running away from the 
flume, and only enough is taken out to reach the ends of the small 
ditches. A grade of six inches to the rod is practicable for hillside 
irrigation, but of course only a small flow of water is employed. 

There are various ways of laying out strawberry beds and 
plantations. Some give flat cultivation and lay out in single rows 
two and a half to three and a half feet apart, and in some districts 



PLANTING STRAWBERRIES 429 

flat culture is unquestionably the best. Others lay out in double rows 
a foot and one-half to two feet apart, and between each pair of 
rows the soil from the center is drawn up to each side, making a low 
ridge or level a little higher than the surface on which the plants 
are set. This level serves as a walk between the beds and holds 
back the water upon the bed when irrigated by flooding. Another, 
and generally adopted plan, is to have the plants in double rows on 
a slight ridge, while between the beds is a furrow which serves as 
a walk and for irrigation. This is accomplished by throwing up the 
soil with the plow into ridges about two feet wide, with a double 
furrow between. On the sides of these ridges the plants are set, 
and often on the top of the ridge between the rows of strawberries 
a single row of onions or lettuce, or some other vegetable, is grown 
the first year. In irrigation the water is drawn up from the trenches 
by the roots and by capillary attraction, and the upper surface does 
not bake, as it would by flooding if the soil be heavy. In hoeing out 
weeds and in fruit gathering, the workman walks in the ditch and 
does not pack the soil around the plant by tramping. This is the 
best method for laying out for large plantations. The rows are a 
uniform distance apart across the field, whether the space between 
be a ridge or a ditch. The method of making the beds a little lower 
than the general surface of the ground answers best on free, open 
soils with perfect drainage. Cultivation can be reduced by cover- 
ing the depressed surface of the bed with mulch of fine, clean litter, 
such as chaff, cut straw, etc. This retains moisture and gives the 
berry a clean surface ko rest on. Such a bed is an excellent ar- 
rangement for the home garden. 

In all arrangements the plants are set at less distances in the 
rows than the rows are from each other. Probably the prevailing 
distance is one foot between the plants ; the range is from eight to 
eighteen inches in the practice of different growers, and determined, 
of course, largely by the habit of the variety. A vine with a spread- 
ing growth and long fruit stem needs, perhaps, sixteen inches which 
some growers give it, while the smaller, more compact growers may 
do well with half that distance. 

Planting Strawberries. — Strawberry plants are set out either in 
spring or fall, or at any time in the winter when the ground is| 
warm or in good condition. Fall planting usually gives a fuller 
spring crop, though planting as late as February has brought two 
crops the following spring and summer, and planting in April has 
secured fruit the same year, but it is better to prevent it and induce 
more growth. Spring planting is in April and May. In the drier 
parts of the State, early fall or winter planting is more essential than 
elsewhere. If the ground is dry, water should always be used in 
planting. This may be given by thorough irrigation of the ground 
before planting, or a little water may be used in setting each plant. 
At planting it is usually best to remove all leaves from the plant, 
shorten the roots to three inches or less, and be sure the plants do 
not dry while planting progresses. As with handling rooted grape- 
vines, it is advisable to carry around the plants in a vessel which 



430 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

has water in it. If the plants have been received by mail they are 
invigorated by soaking in water a few hours before planting. 

In setting the plants, scoop out a little excavation with the hand 
or a trowel, spread the roots well, cover with a fine soil, being 
sure that the crown of the plant shall not be below the surface 
when the soil is leveled. Too many strawberry plants are buried, 
not planted. Some plant very rapidly by using a dibble to make a 
hole, into which the roots are dropped and soil pressed around them 
by using the dibble alongside ; others set the plants on the side of 
the furrow, trusting to the next furrow to complete the covering. 
Nearly all ways succeed if the plant is not set too deeply and the 
ground is moist at planting and not allowed to dry out afterwards 
— providing good, strong plants are used. In buying plants it is 
often poor economy to buy the cheapest. 

Staminate and Pistillate. — In associating varieties be sure the 
pistillate varieties are not set by themselves. Some sorts have per- 
fect flowers and are self- fertilizing ; others have only the pistillate 
element in the bloom and must have the staminate adjacent in an- 
other variety. Several varieties largely grown in California have 
perfect flowers, though some pistillate sorts have been locally ap- 
proved. This matter should be looked into before planting a variety. 
Pistillate varieties should have staminate kinds in every fourth row. 

Cane of the Strawberry Plantation, — Herein lies the secret of 
success with the strawberry. Neglect has led to disappointment 
and condemnation of the strawberry, where intelligent care would 
have rendered it a constant delight. The chief elements of proper 
care may be thus enumerated: 

Retention of moisture very near the surface by careful, shallow 
cultivation or by mulching, persistent destruction of weeds, and 
compensation for summer evaporation by frequent irrigation. The 
plants during the bearing season should never be allowed to show 
any leaf-shriveling from drouth. Frequency of irrigation depends 
upon local conditions. Irrigation at intervals of four to ten days, 
according to the soil, are the outlines of prevailing practice. 

Constantly remove runners from all plants except those it is 
desired to multiply to furnish new plants or to fill the rows. Pinch- 
ing of runners should always accompany picking or hoeing of weeds, 
and on the garden bed there can be no excuse for neglect in this 
respect. The young plants should be faithfully freed from runners 
to strengthen them up for bearing. 

Though, as already stated, strawberries may in some locations 
be had all winter, it is better practice, as a general rule, to lay the 
plants away for a rest. The market season in the regions sup- 
plying the San Francisco market extends from April to December, 
and fruit is continuously shipped during that period. At the ap- 
proach of winter in the last-named month, it is usual to go over 
the beds with a sickle, cutting off the old crops of leaves close to 
the root crown, carefully cleaning up the plantation for the heavy 
rains. In most cases it will be a great advantage then to cover 



STRAWBERRY VARIETIES 431 

over all with a light coat of good manure, which the winter rains 
will leach down into the soils. The result of the fall clipping and 
enriching will be an early and strong start of the plant in the spring, 
and a most abundant fruitage. 

Duration of the Plantation. — Strawberry plants well cared for 
and not visited by insect pests, have a long, productive, and prof- 
itable life in California. Twelve-year-old plants are sometimes 
reported as still producing abundantly. It is customary to count 
from five to eight years as the profitable life of a plant, though 
some growers replant after two or three bearing years. The ef- 
fective duration depends directly upon preventing growth of new 
plants and too close matting of the rows. 

Varieties of the Strawberry. — Though all new varieties are 
tried by California growers, and quite a number may be consid- 
ered successful either for market or for home use, only a very few 
may be said to be widely grown. In the Watsonville district, 
which largely supplies San Francisco, the Melinda, which some 
growers hold to be indistinguishable from the Dollar, was chiefly 
grown, but Banner is displacing it and Nick Ohmer and Klondyke 
gaining ground. In the southern Alameda and Santa Clara district 
the Banner was at first grown exclusively by some large growers, 
but is gaining ground in other districts. In the Florin district, 
near Sacramento, growing berries to ship all through the northern 
States of the coast and eastward to Colorado, the Dollar is grown 
almost exclusively, with a few Jerseys for extra early. Other vari- 
eties which do well in the interior valley are : Longworth, Lady 
Thompson, and Tennessee Prolific. In the Fresno district, Mar- 
shall and Jessie are chiefly grown. 

In the districts near Los Angeles, the Brandywine prevails. 
It is best for shipping and is held to be sweeter than at the east; 
and next to it, in the commercial fields at the south, are Excelsior 
and Klondyke, The Arizona Everbearing is declining in popu- 
larity, although still favored by some growers in Southern California. 

Three old kinds which still hold favor for home use and local 
sale are the Longworth Prolific, the Sharpless, and the Monarch 
of the West. The Sharpless is the most widely grown ; the Mon- 
arch shows better size and color in Southern California and on the 
Sierra foothills than in the regions adjacent to San Francisco, 
although it is still grown therein to some extent. The Longworth 
is an old favorite, early, productive and hardy, and its style has 
become very popular in the markets. Wilson's Albany also holds 
favor. 

It has been demonstrated that varieties show marked difference 
in behavior in different soils and situations. In planting for market 
or home use the planter will be safer in making his largest planta- 
tions of the varieties commended by leading growers and well 
informed nurserymen, and at the same time he should put out 
experimental plants of other varieties. Mr. H. A. Hyde of Wat- 
sonville is getting some surprising results by selecting distinctly 
prolific strains of Nick Ohmer, Klondyke, Magoon and Melinda. 



432 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The most notable work for new varieties in California is being 
pursued by Mr. Albert F. Etter, of Ettersburg, Humboldt County. 
He is crossing cultivated varieties with local wild species and is thus 
introducing factors not employed hitherto with results which are 
notable in size, thrift and disease-resistance of the plants and in 
prolific bearing of fruit of unique characters for long shipment 
and for canning as well as for possession of the traditional delicious- 
ness and desirability of the strawberry. Mr. Etter has described 
his material, methods and results in detail in the Pacific Rural Press 
of January 23, 1915; March 4, 1916; January 26, 1918; March 1, 
1919, and January 8, 1921. The relation of Mr. Etter's work to the 
commercial production of strawberries will be disclosed by the 
wide trial being made of his varieties. 

The Banner which has been mentioned as advancing in favor 
is said to have been discovered on the Sweet Briar Ranch near Cas- 
tella, California, in 1899. Mr. Loftus, the owner of the ranch, had 
a bed of strawberries of a standard Eastern variety. The old plants 
had been dug out and thrown aside. The following spring a plant 
was discovered which showed distinct characteristics entirely dif- 
ferent from the others, and from this plant was developed the 
Banner berry as it is now known. 



PART SEVEN : NUTS 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

THE ALMOND 

Two nuts have arisen to large commercial importance in Cali- 
fornia : the English walnut and the almond. Other nuts than these, 
except peanuts, have never attained great acreage, although sev- 
eral have succeeded and promise to become popular. 

The production of almonds during the last decade has been as 
follows, in tons of 2,000 lbs. : 

1910 3300 1916 3400 

1911 1700 1917 4000 

1912 3000 1918 . .■ 5168 

1913 1000 1919 7000 

1914 2250 1920 5500 

1915 3500 

Almonds are chiefly grown in a commercial way in the interior 
valleys of central California, although there are extensions into the 
more northerly counties of the Sacramento Valley. On the coast 
there is large acreage in the Paso Robles region of San Luis Obispo 
County, and in southern California the largest production is in the 
Banning district of Riverside County. The production rapidly 
increased because of successful marketing through the California 
Almond Growers Exchange during the practical exclusion of Euro- 
pean almonds by the war, but in 1920 California almonds were 
made almost unsalable at profitable prices by importations which 
will be reduced by restoration of a protective duty, and because of 
a better understanding of the natural conditions required for suc- 
cessful operations with the almond tree.* The numbers of trees 
now growing in California and a valuation of the product are given 
in Chapter VI. 

Vicissitudes of the Almond. — The almond has an interesting 
history in California, but it can be outlined in a few sentences. The 
importation of the best European varieties began very early, and 
a number of them had been planted in 1853. They proved irregular 
bearers, though the trees grew thriftily and in some cases showed 
fruit very soon after planting. The barren almond trees were 
largely grafted into prunes or made into firewood and the con- 
clusion was reached that to secure regularity and abundance in 
fruiting, locations for almond orchards must be sought with the 
utmost care, and that the secret of success lay in the location. After 
that local seedlings seemed to demonstrate their value in regular 
crops, and in characteristics and qualities superior to foreign kinds. 

*A very satisfactory publication is "The Almond in California," by R. H. Taylor: Bul- 
letin 297 of tlie University Experiment Station at Berkeley. 



434 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Large planting was then undertaken on the ground that the choice 
of soil and situation, and the selection of trustworthy varieties, are 
both factors of success, but that possibly more lay in the choice of 
variety than of location. This belief led to the wide planting in 
locations now seen to be unfitted by reason of frosts and losses 
were again encountered. Now it seems to be fully demonstrated 
that no matter what variety is planted locations for the almond 
must be selected with great care. It has also been demonstrated 
that association of varieties promotes pollination and satisfactory 
bearing, as will be stated later. Notwithstanding such cultural 
wisdom and the progress made by growers in co-operative market- 
ing, the need of shelling inferior varieties, which can not be done 
profitably with high-cost labor, and other commercial difficulties, 
the planting interest in 1921 is at low ebb. 

Situations and Soils for the Almond. — Almonds are now doing 
best on the higher lands in coast valleys, free from fogs and pro- 
tected from direct winds, but subject to tempered breezes ; also at 
various points in the interior valleys and foothills. The general 
proposition that low lands in small valleys should be avoided, and 
bench or hillside situations preferred, seems to be a safe one. Lands 
directly upon the coast have not proved satisfactory. In the large 
interior valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, almonds are 
successfully grown on flat valley lands but little lifted above sea 
level and from such plains the chief product comes. Why almonds 
are safer on the low lands of a great valley than of a small valley is 
explained by the discussion in Chapter I. 

The almond prefers a loose^ light, warm soil, and heavy, poorly- 
drained soils should be avoided. Though they need moisture enough 
to make good, thrifty growth they will produce good crops on soils 
that are too light or dry to grow satisfactory peaches, apricots, 
nectarines, cherries, or similar pulpy fruits. The almond is, how- 
ever, a very deep-rooting tree, and may succeed by reaching deeply 
for moisture rather than by denying itself, as some think. The 
tree certainly suffers and is barren from drouth in some cases, and 
a certain amount of irrigation in midsummer is very desirable in 
many places. Almonds are doing well in alfalfa with irrigation — 
the alfalfa making a good growth and still leaving soil-moisture 
enough to cause the nuts to open their hulls better than on drier 
ground with clean cultivation — but care must be taken not to get 
too much water in the soil for the health of the roots. 

Propagating, Planting, and Pruning. — The almond is propagated 
from seedlings grown as described in Chapter VIII, and budded as 
described in Chapter IX. The almond root is chiefly used, though 
the peach answers well upon soils adapted to it. The apricot root 
should be avoided, and plum roots have proved disappointing. 

For planting out, trees in dormant bud are very successful if 
given proper care. Yearling trees are, on the whole, best and 
usually those which have made a moderate instead of a very large 
growth are to be preferred. The almond makes a comparatively 
large tree and should have plenty of room — not less than twenty- 



PRUNING THE ALMOND 435 

four feet apart (though some plantations are made at twenty feet), 
and thirty feet is better. 

Old almond trees are readily worked over to other varieties by 
grafting and by budding into new shoots forced out by cutting off 
large branches. Methods with the peach described in Chapter XX 
are applicable to the almond. 

The pruning of the almond is more important than formerly 
thought. The tree should be headed low and pruned during the 
first three years, as described in Chapter XII, to secure a shapely, 
strong tree. After the third year little pruning is usually done 
except to thin out objectionable branches. Suckers, or rank new 
growth, in the center of the tree should be removed, unless more 
branches are needed ; such growth bears little and takes away 
strength from bearing wood. There is danger of allowing the trees 
to become too dense and to have too little new wood for fruit bear- 
ing until the tree is cut back all around and a new top is secured 
upon the old forkings of main branches. This has been successfully 
done with many old orchards. A wide impression has recently 
prevailed that the almond has been pruned too little and there 
seems little doubt that pruning for continuous renewal of bearing 
wood must be provided. There are widely variant views on the 
extent to which the policy should be carried. Mr. Leonard Coates 
of Morgan Hill reached the conclusion that the almond should 
be pruned like the peach — not only started like the peach, but 
annually pruned after it comes into bearing for the production of 
new wood, shortening the shoots of new wood and thinning out 
excess of such shoots to prevent the tree from becoming too brushy. 
When this is done, he has found for a number of years that trees 
thus pruned bring regular and heavy crops, while adjacent un- 
pruned trees have a scanty set of nuts. But growers shrink from 
such practice because of the considerable cost of it. 

More moderate but still continual pruning is practiced by Mr. 
J. T. Caldwell of San Joaquin County, who states his method in 
this way : 

I do not like to wait several years and then butcher my trees. I prune 
a little every year, watching all the time for limbs that are in the way or 
getting too thick — taking them out entirely, whatever size they may be; 
but there are seldom any big ones in the way, nor that have to be cut out 
for any other reason. I figure just on thinning out the brush, taking out 
the suckers, but never topping back, because that would induce a whippy 
growth, from which the nuts would be knocked off in windy weather, and 
the same is true if too many top branches are allowed close together, so 
that the full force of the wind catches them. 

The cultivation of the almond orchard is the same as commended 
for other fruit trees, and as the trees are often planted in naturally 
dry soils, the greater care in cultivation is needed to retain sufficient 
moisture to give good size to the nuts. In certain locations, of 
course, irrigation will be necessary, but usually a light rainfall will 
answer if good cultivation is given. The chief part of the almond 
crop is grown without irrigation. 

Harvesting Almonds. — There is some variation in the methods 
of handling almonds, and much to be learned by visiting commercial 



436 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

orchards at harvesting time, but the following explicit account of 
procedure by Mr, J, P. Dargitz conveys general outlines of methods 
and materials : 

"When the hulls on the nuts are loose from the shells, as will be 
indicated by their bursting open, it is time to begin gathering if you 
wish to hull them. If they get too dry you will have to wet them 
before hulling or you will break the shells. If you wish to shell 
them then, the drier they get the better. It will not pay to begin 
until the nuts about the crotches of the trees are ready and they will 
be the last to ripen. When they are all ready you can get all at one 
gathering. Have some sheets made of heavy unbleached sheeting 
or Hght duck or sail cloth. Mine for large trees are 15x30 feet, 
handled by two men to a sheet and two sheets to a tree. Spread 
the sheets under the tree, one on each side, lapping the edges where 
they join. Then the men take soft wood or bamboo poles and by 
jarring the limbs cause the nuts to fall on the sheets. Always strike 
the limbs sideways, for if you strike a glancing blow down the limb, 
you will reduce next year's crop. The object is to get the nuts and 
disturb the foliage as little as possible. When the nuts are all off 
the tree, the men toss their poles to the next tree and then gather 
up the sheets, one man at each end of each sheet, and, lifting them, 
carry them to the next tree, where the process is repeated. When 
enough nuts are in the sheets to fill several lug boxes, the boxes are 
placed on the ground side by side, and the sheets are emptied into 
them. These boxes are then stacked up so as to be easily seen, and 
the teamster hauls them to the sheds where machines for hulling 
are located. In the very small orchards the hulling is usually done 
by hand. For orchards slightly larger there are small hullers which 
can be operated by hand or by a small gasoline engine or electric 
motor. For larger orchards, machines which can hull up to two 
or three tons per day are in the market." 

After the hulling more or less hand sorting is required, as the 
small machines do no sorting, while the larger machines do more 
or less perfect sorting of the hulls from the nuts. 

Bleaching. — After this hand sorting, the nuts are spread out in 
the sun to be thoroughly cured before bleaching. After they are 
cured so that the kernel will break without bending, they are ready 
for bleaching. The bleaching requires the dampening of the shells. 
This is accomplished by immersing quickly in water or by a fine 
spray from a hose nozzle, or by putting on trays and running in the 
sulphur house and then introducing low pressure steam — not more 
than 30 pounds — into the sulphur house for 15 to 30 minutes. The 
moisture from this low-pressure steam heats or dampens the outer 
portion of the shell, and then while they are both hot and damp — 
the steam being shut off — the sulphur fumes from burning sulphur 
are introduced in the sulphur house for perhaps 15 to 30 minutes and 
give the required brightening to the shell. If the almonds have 
been immersed before bleaching it will be necessary after bleach- 
ing to spread them out in the sun for several hours and stir them 
occasionally to get rid of the excess moisture. If they have been 



VARIETIES OF THE ALMOND 437 

dampened by a fine spray hose they may or may not need this dry- 
ing, but they must be perfectly dry before being sacked. If the 
steam process is used, the nuts can be taken immediately from the 
sulphur house and sacked, and the heat that is in the shell will 
evaporate the small amount of moisture in the process of sacking. 
It is claimed that, after the outfit is provided, the steam process 
costs only about one-half as much as the other process of bleach- 
ing. If the shell is wet through, or if the kernels are not well cured, 
or if the shells are open and the nuts immersed and there is more 
or less water inside the shells, the sulphur will materially injure the 
kernels and they will not keep well, but will soon become rancid. 

Almonds that are to be shelled for commercial purposes should 
not be bleached under any circumstances, as the only object to be 
accomplished in bleaching is the brightening of the shell, and for 
shelling purposes the shells are not marketed. 

Pollination of the Almond, — Careful studies* have shown that 
arrangements for pollination are essential to the satisfactory bear- 
ing of nearly all the varieties now being grown in California. The 
following conclusions are most widely useful : 

California may be pollinated by Nonpareil and Peerless. 

Drake may be pollinated bj^ California, Languedoc, Nonpareil and Texas; 
however, Languedoc is a poor pollen producer. 

Harriott may be pollinated by Ne Plus Ultra. 

I. X. L. may be pollinated by Drake. 

Ne Plus Ultra may be pollinate by California, I. X. L., Jordan, and 
Nonpareil. 

Nonpareil may be pollinated by California, Drake, Jordan, Ne Plus Ultra, 
Peerless and Texas. 

Texas may be pollinated by Drake and Nonpareil. 

One colony of honey bees should be provided for each acre of orchard. 

A few years ago there was a general disposition to plant Drakes 
and Texas because of their regular bearing and their pollinating 
effect upon the Hatch varieties. The Texas has proven inferior as 
table almonds and sells best after shelling, which is too expensive 
to be profitable. It seems better policy to plant the better varieties 
and rely upon their cross-pollination with the aid of the bees. The 
need of shelling also limits the desirability of hard shell almonds 
of the Jordan type. 

Varieties of the Almond. — Almonds should bear well every year, 
hull easily, have clean, thin, soft shells, and a smooth, bright, and 
plump kernel. Almonds with long, single kernels are preferred to 
those which have double ones. These are the characters which 
ruled in the selection of new varieties by the pioneer propagator 
of new almonds, A. T. Hatch, of Suisun. In 1878 Mr. Hatch planted 
out about two thousand five hundred seedling almond trees grown 
from the bitter almond seed. He afterward budded all the seed- 
lings but about three hundred which were left to bearing age un- 
budded. The fruit of these seedlings was of all degrees of excel- 
lence. A few of the best of them were selected for propagation and 

*" Almond Pollination," by Warren P. Tufts: California Experiment Station Bulletin 
No. 306, Berkeley, March, 1919. 



438 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

naming, and they constitute the chief part of the acreage which is 
now bearing almonds in CaHfornia. 

Excellent seedling almonds have also been produced by other 
growers. The following list includes the sorts most widely grown : 
Nonpareil, Drake, IXL, Ne Plus Ultra, Peerless, Texas Prolific, 
Languedoc. 

IXL. — Tree a sturdy, rather upright grower, with large leaves; nuts 
large with, as a rule, single kernels; hulls easily, no machine being needed, 
nor is any bleaching necessary; shell soft, but perfect; largely discarded 
for shy bearing, but desirable in some places. 

Ne Plus Ultra. — Large and very long in shape; heavy and regular bear- 
er; soft shell; hull free. 

Nonpareil. — First called Extra. Of a weeping style of growth; smaller 
foliage than the IXL, but still forms a beautiful tree. An extraordinarily 
heavy and regular bearer, with very thin shell, of the Paper Shell type. 
Ripens early and can be gathered before other varieties are ready. 

Lewelling's Prolific. — Originated with the late Mr. John Lewelling; "tree 
a great bearer; of drooping habit; nut large and good; soft shell; hull 
free." — Leonard Coates. 

Harriott's Seedling (or Commercial). — From Visalia, where it is a surer 
cropper than elsewhere; shell softer than the Languedoc; nut long, of 
peculiar shape, quite large; kernel sweet. 

King's Soft Shell. — Originated in San Jose; shell very thin and soft; 
regular and abundant bearer. 

Princess. — The finest of the Paper Shell class; long, oval, kernel large, 
white and sweet. 

Languedoc. — Nut large; shell thin; kernel sweet; condemned for irreg- 
ular bearing. 

California Paper Shell. — Medium size; shell very tender, easily broken 
between the finger and thumb; kernel large, white and sweet. Efficient 
pollinizer for other varieties. 

Drake's Seedling. — Originated with Mr. Drake of Suisun, of the Langue- 
doc class; very prolific, and a regular, abundant bearer. A late blooming 
variety. 

Golden State. — Originated by Webster Treat. A large soft shell, some- 
what longer than the Languedoc, with a full, smooth-skinned meat; parts 
from the hull readily. An early variety, but in less favor than formerly. 

Peerless. — Resembling IXL. Popular in Yolo County for regular and 
heavy bearing. 

Texas Prolific. — Brought from Texas by Robert Williamson of Sacra- 
mento, about 1891, as a seedling originated at Dallas, and the only almond 
which would bear there. Largely planted as a pollinizer for Nonpareil; 
productive, but is condemned for unsalability. 

Jordan. — This long, hard-shelled almond, notable because of its long, 
slim kernel for "salted almonds" and imported at high cost for that pur- 
pose, has been introduced both through government distribution and pri- 
vate enterprise, notably that of the late John Rock, of the California 
Nursery Co., of Niles. Too little has yet been seen to determine the value 
of the variety in local production. It is especially favored to the Coachella 
Valley. 

Eureka. — Originated with Mr. A. M. Newland, of Colusa. Has long, 
slim kernel, resembling Jordan, but smaller and enclosed in a thin shell. 
Regularly productive for twenty years with originator. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

THE ENGLISH WALNUT 

Although we have in California a grand native walnut tree, as 
noted in Chapter IV, the nut to which reference is made when the 
term "walnut" is used is the English walnut or Madeira nut — both 
of which are old trade names for the Persian walnut (Juglans 
regia). Our native walnut in its species and as influenced by en- 
vironment,* ranges from a tree of great size and beauty to a shrub. 
The species found in the valleys of Central and Northern California 
is a majestic tree widely grown from the nuts for shade and orna- 
ment, from early pioneer days to the present and therefore now 
widely distributed and admired. Its greatest economic service is, 
however, the contribution of its nuts for seedlings which are largely 
depended upon as stocks for grafted trees, as will be stated later. 

The Walnut Product. — The English walnut was introduced to 
California during the Mission period, the first being probably grown 
by the Mission Fathers from nuts brought from Spain. Away from 
the Missions there were also old trees in Southern California at the 
time of the American occupation. English walnuts were also planted 
both in Southern and Central California by the American pioneers, 
but for decades there was no notable commercial production. Very 
large trees planted in the pioneer period are still to be seen here and 
there in both coast and interior situations.! 

The California product of walnuts during the last decade has 
been as follows, in tons of 2,000 lbs. : 

1910 9,600 1916 14,600 

1911 12,500 1917 16,500 

1912 11,250 1918 19,962 

1913 11,750 1919 28,100 

1914 8,000 1920 21,500 

1915 14,895 

The walnut product is almost exclusively grown in Orange, Los 
Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara — contiguous counties along the 
southern coast of the State, and the headquarters of the California 
Walnut Growers Association, a very efficient co-operative organiza- 
tion, is in Los Angeles. The product grown outside of the area 
indicated is relatively small but increasing, as local adaptations to 
the tree have been demonstrated, wherever suitable soils have been 
found and varieties meeting local requirernents have been planted, 
in all parts of the State. 



*A very interesting study of the native walnut in its various forms is given by Prof. 
R. E. Smith in Bulletin 231 of the University of California Experiment Station, 1912 — re- 
printed in modified form in 1921. 

tMany records of early plantings are to be found in the Report of the California State 
Board of Horticulture, 189S-6. 



440 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Soils for the Walnut. — The walnut makes most rapid growth 
upon a deep, rich, moist, loamy soil, and shows its appreciation of 
good things of the earth as do other fruit trees, and yet it attains 
satisfactory size and bearing in less favorable situations. Thriving 
trees can be found in the clays and decomposed granite soils of the 
foothills, as well as in the valley silts and loams. Adequate moisture 
must, however, be had either by rainfall or irrigation, and the 
walnut cannot be commended for dry, neglected places nor for soils 
which overlie leachy subsoils. 

Irrigation of Walnuts. — Over-irrigated walnut trees on heavy 
soil are subject to die-back; on well-drained soil they are liable to 
be pushed into too late growth, which goes into the frost period 
too immature, and is easily killed back by a temperature which 
would not injure well-matured wood. It is not a matter of calendar 
date so much as of condition, but usually irrigation after August is 
undesirable — except on loose soils prone to dry out in the late fall. 
In the latter case, if rain does not fall, light irrigation should be 
given at any time when the soil seems to be getting too dry to keep 
the root-hairs alive. Too late growth on young trees can be pro- 
tected by bundling with straw or stalks, or by wrapping with bur- 
laps, but it is better to use less water, get less growth and let it 
ripen and harden earlier — but the soil must not be allowed to get 
too dry. 

Propagation. — The walnut tree grows readily from nuts treated 
as described in Chapter VIII. For many years the use of seedlings 
prevailed, and the nut was looked upon as coming sufficiently true 
from seed. Recently, however, this has changed rapidly, and bud- 
ding or grafting to secure a high, uniform grade and to secure 
fruitfulness in spite of the blight is commanding wide attention. 
In growing young trees it is being considered desirable to bud or 
graft rather high so as to get a trunk of the hardier variety which 
is used as a stock. 

The California black is now chiefly used as a stock for the 
English walnut, and either budding or grafting resorted to. The 
success of the English walnut on our native stock has long been 
known. Mr. John R. Wolfskill, on Putah Creek^ in Solano County, 
put in a bud in 1875 and the tree reached immense size and large 
product. Since then many large native black walnuts have been 
top-grafted with the English walnut with notable success, not only 
in orchards, but along highways where the native black walnut has 
been planted for shade and ornament. 

Mr. F. S. Leib, of San Jose, who has given much attention to 
stocks for the English walnut, believes that the cross of the Cali- 
fornia black and the Eastern black walnuts, and the California 
black walnut straight, gives the best seedlings for roots for the 
English walnut, but advises close selection of the nuts in the sprout- 
ing bed (see Chapter VIII), as the nuts with the longest sprouts 
make the strongest growth in the nursery or in open ground. 

The best nuts for seedlings are the native black walnut straight 
and the Royal hybrid (every cross between the native Eastern black 



BUDDING THE WALNUT 44]^ 

walnut and the native California black walnut is called a Royal 
hybrid), while the Paradox hybrids (English walnuts crossed with 
California black) make a large root and but a moderate top the 
first year, and few make good the second year. The Paradox hybrid 
roots are also subject to killing by the oak-root fungus, which the 
straight native seedlings and the Royal hybrids both resist. 

Budding the Walnut. — Twig buds as used with the olive are also 
successful with the walnut and ring budding works well on shoots 
of a year's growth, which have at least attained the thickness of the 
middle finger, if the buds are set at the base of these shoots where 
the wood is perfectly round. The bandage should pass above and 
below the bud so that the bark under it may be pressed down close 
upon the stock. 

Mr. A. W. Keith, of Selma, in taking a fresh bud from the new 
growth, found the large leaf stem a serious impediment in firmly 
placing a shield bud upon the cambium of the stock and binding it 
there. Shaving it away with a knife left too much exposed tissue. 
If the leaf stem would drop off as it does when mature and leave a 
healed-over scar, the result would be a flat surface with only the 
bud protruding, and this could be easily bound in place so as to 
exclude the air. By cutting off the compound leaf, leaving a stub 
of an inch or so, the stub thus left dries and parts from the stem 
just as a mature leaf does in the autumn, leaving clean, flat buds. 

Budding to Hold Over Winter. — Mr. Pennington of Vacaville 
has been very successful in budding by cutting buds in the regular 
shield form, about 1^4 inches long, cut from branches ^ to ^ inch 
in diameter, so as to get wide buds with but little wood left in them. 
He also prefers to have stocks large, and considers a stock 1^^ inches 
in diameter not too large. He uses ordinary budding twine for 
tying, but does not use wax to cover the incisions. He buds as late 
as it is possible to get a good flow of sap, as then the weather is 
likely to be cooler, which is an important factor, and the growing 
season is about finished, which will allow the twine to be left in 
place all winter, which he considers advisable. Buds are more apt 
to succeed when pushed upward from the cross-cut than downward 
from it. 

Budding to Force Growth. — Budding during the growing season 
to force immediate growth on the buds is successfully practiced, 
both in nursery stock and in working over orchard trees, by Mr. 
Antone Mardesich, propagator for Mr. Leonard Coates of Morgan 
Hill, in this way: 

Buds have been successfully put in from April to October, but spring 
budding is recommended. The early budding is done from budwood about 
half an inch in diameter cut in January, while entirely dormant. About six 
buds at the base of last season's growth are suitable. They must be on 
round wood, as buds taken from angular wood do not flatten tightly enough 
against the stock. The dormant budwood is packed in damp shavings in a 
box in a shed until budding time comes. The shavings are too damp if any 
moisture can be squeezed out of them. Sand is likely to dull the budding 
knife. If the budwood is to be used late in the spring, it must be kept 
cold. If it is to be used early in spring, it may be kept the last week or 



442 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

two in a place where it will warm up gradually. This starts a sappy 
loosening of bark so it can be peeled clean from the stick. Buds may be 
used even if swelled somewhat, but those showing color will die. Little 
spherical, hard and sound buds, are most successful. 

The stocks must always be full of sap so the bark will lift easily enough 
to force the bud under it. 

Seedlings and branches on older trees to be budded are cut oflf three 
weeks before budding about a foot above the point of insertion. This 
seems to thicken the sap so that when the buds are inserted they stick 
before they dry out and the sap does not "drown" the buds. If sap flow in 
the stock is weak, the cutting back seems to loosen the bark from the 
wood. 

The shield of bark containing a bud is cut about an inch above and below 
it and a quarter inch on each side, tapering to blunt ends. It is cut nar- 
rower if the stock is of smaller diameter than the budstick. The upper 
end of the bark shield is grasped and peeled clean from the wood. The 
ordinary T cut is made in the stock and the shield with its bud is cut and 
slipped in immediately and tied with a cotton string around the stock from 
the top of the slit downward to prevent the bud slipping upward as it 
might if tied from the bottom up. It is wrapped quite tight, so that 
the sap oozes from the bottom of the slit while tying — showing that no 
air is left under the bud. No wax or other dressing is used. About two 
weeks later the string is cut on the back side of the stock. When the 
shoot has started vigorously, cut the stock above the bud back to a three- 
inch stub. Tie the shoot to this stub to protect it against wind. Cut the 
stub ofif smooth a year later so it will heal over quickly and paint the 
wound with asphalt. 

For summer budding, buds of the current season's growth are put into 
shoots of the current season's growth. Such budding, done even as late 
as October, has made enough growth to ripen before winter, but ordinarily 
it is well to get it all done by the last of August. 

Grafting the Walnut. — Grafting into black walnut seedling root 
can also be well done by a triangular cut into the edge of the root 
stump, as described for grafting into grape-vine stumps in Chapter 
XXVI. In the case of the walnut, close binding with a wax band 
is desirable. 

Large walnut trees can be worked over either by budding or 
grafting. If by budding, the large limbs are cut back in the winter, 
and in autumn following, buds are put in as many of the new 
shoots as may be desired, or, in the case of younger trees, the buds 
are put under the bark of the branches without forcing out new 
growth. 

Grafting over is desirable either for substituting a better variety 
of English walnut, or for working over a California black walnut 
into an English variety. Mr. J. B. NefJf, of Anaheim, who has 
worked over many old trees, gives the following practical sug- 
gestions : 

If the trees are from three to five inches in diameter they may be cut 
off at about four feet above the ground and below the branches, then four 
or five scions may be placed on one stock, or three or four of the branches 
may be cut back to within 10 to 24 inches of the trunk and two or three 
scions placed on each. All the other branches should be removed from the 
trunk. 

Old trees of from 12 to 20 years should have the branches cut at places 
where they are from three to six inches in diameter, and from five to eight 
stubs left, which will be from three to six feet in length and should have 
as many as six scions in the large stubs, the other branches being removed 
before the scions are put in place. 



GRAFTING THE WALNUT 443 

In sawing large branches, it is necessary to make two cuts, the first 
being some distance above or outside the final cut, to prevent splitting the 
stub, or the trunk, when the severed part falls. 

The scion should always be of solid, mature wood, that is, with as 
small pith as can be had readily, and must have good living buds. Each 
scion should be about one-quarter inch in diameter and have at least two 
buds. The growth having buds close together is best, as shorter scions 
can be used. 

To receive the scions use a heavy butcher knife and mallet to split the 
stubs, placing the knife across the stub to one side of the pith, as if a chip 
one-half to five-eighths inch thick was to be taken ofif. Then depress the 
handle of the knife to an angle of 30 to 45 degrees and split the edge down 
to 2^ to 3 inches, allowing the knife to reach the farther side of the stub, 
but not making the split entirely across the stub. Open the cleft with an 
iron wedge Yz to f-^-inch wide and thickest on one edge, placing the thickest 
edge toward the outside. 

Trim the cleft in the stub with a sharp knife so it will be smooth. Then 
cut the scion so as to fit perfectly and place it so the inner bark (the cam- 
bium layer) of both will be on the same line, or at least will cross twice, 
then remove the wedge and put hot wax over all the cuts on both stock 
and scion at once. 

The scions should be examined frequently and any excessive flow of 
sap wiped off, and the stub recovered with wax as soon as dry. Excessive 
flow of sap for several weeks will cause the loss of the scions, as the callus 
can not form in water. This may be controlled by boring one-fourth inch 
holes in the body of the tree near the ground. Three or four holes four 
inches deep will be sufficient to control the flow of the largest trees. No 
damage is done to the body of the tree, as the holes soon grow over. 

For grafting in the stems of seedlings or in the smaller branches 
of young trees a side graft as described in Chapter IX is success- 
fully used, as are also several styles of cleft grafting. One which 
is used by Mr. R. Wiltz and others at San Jose consists in splitting 
a short stub of a small branch which has been cut about four inches 
from its attachment to a larger branch of stem. In this case the 
split can only extend to the closely knit wood in the crotch and the 
scion is pushed down strongly to the bottom of such a split and it 
is held tightly. The two pieces of the deep split are not cut away 
but are allowed to protect the short scion which is between them, 
and if buds start on these pieces they are allowed to grow a little 
to keep the stock from dying back. When the scion starts well 
they are removed. 

A method of side grafting (so called because the stock is not cut 
across but a cleft made in the side of it) has been very successfully 
practiced by Mr. Weinshank, of Whittier, both with nursery seed- 
lings and on branches of large trees. His work has shown eighty 
to ninety per cent successful in the nursery and even more on 
branches of large trees. The following is a condensed description 
of the method : 

The scion is prepared as for a whip graft (Chapter IX), cutting 
across obliquely and making another cut right straight down with 
the grain in the scion. Then, instead of cutting the stock completely 
across like the scion, just simply make a little cut on the side. Do 
not cut into the pith of the wood at all. Then, place the two to- 
gether by pushing the tongue of the scion (made by the cut on 
its shorter side) into the lip cut in the stock; tie with a string and 



444 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

wax over. The same method on larger trees is performed exactly 
in the same way, except that the lip of course on the larger limbs, 
which are three or four inches through, would be considerably 
larger, and the scion instead of being placed directly in the middle 
of the lip, or in the center, would be placed on the side so as to have 
the cambium of the scion connecting with the cambium on the stock 
at least on one side. Three or four, or sometimes five scions are put 
on a large limb, and in most cases three or four scions would grow. 
After the scion has reached a certain stage of growth, this string 
will commence to bind, and must be cut down right over where the 
scion is. The wax on either side will tend to hold the string, but as 
the wood naturally grows, the strings will draw apart, and it will 
not bind as it would if the string was not cut. 

Side grafting with a saw-cut, as described for the peach in 
Chapter XX, also works well with the walnut. 

Treatment After Grafting. — A fuller account of the protection 
of scions after setting and during their early growth is given by 
Mr. Edwin Gower of Fowler, Fresno County, thus explicitly : 

Take two folds of burlap, punch holes for the scions to pass through, 
making a hood inclosing and covering the entire stump, letting it extend 
down the sides a short distance; tie a string around the stump to hold it 
in place; by using this method the wax will remain in perfect condition. 

After the scion is growing rapidly, cut the string; do not remove it. 
This allows the scion to grow without the string cutting it. If small trees, 
drive a stake down to tie the new growth. On old trees nail four sticks 
equal distances apart around the stump, letting the sticks extend four or 
five feet beyond the stump, wrap some string around these sticks; this 
acts as a net enclosing the growth of the scion, which grows phenomenally 
on black walnut. I have seen instances where they grew fifteen feet in one 
year. This net acts as a support and keeps the scion from either breaking 
or splitting off by the winds. It is sometimes advisable to nib off the end 
of the branches to check the growth. Cut them back vigorously for two 
or three years, until such time as they are well attached to the stump. 

I have used the bark graft, also the cleft graft, but I prefer the former, 
as the scion seems to grow more rapidly and reach maturity sooner. 



PLANTING WALNUT ORCHARDS 

There is much difference in practice in planting out walnut trees 
in permanent place. Some advocate the use of trees two or three 
years from the seed, getting as much of the tap-root as possible ; 
others allow the tree to remain in nursery until it throws out lat- 
erals, which is usually done the fourth or fifth year. Two-year- 
old trees are generally preferred, but walnut trees of many times 
that age can be successfully transplanted if the work is carefully 
done. Walnut trees are usually set forty feet in squares, though 
some give the large-growing varieties fifty feet. Planting in hex- 
agonals at forty-five feet distance gives very satisfactory results. 
Some growers plant in squares at thirty feet distance, intending 
to remove alternate trees as they crowd each other, first cutting 
back, for a time, the trees which are finally to be removed. Sixty 
feet is close enough for mature trees. 



PRUNING THE WALNUT 445 

Planting Nuts in Place. — Some walnut orchards are being grown 
for sprouted nuts planted where the tree is to grow. At first it was 
the custom to put three nuts near together — reducing the seedlings 
to one subsequently. Recently the preference is given to planting 
one good strongly sprouted nut in a place because removing surplus 
seedlings is difficult and likely to disturb the one which is retained. 
Any gaps in the planting are filled by planting seedlings from a 
side-bed in which a number are grown for this purpose. There are 
strong advocates of this method, which requires orchard budding 
or grafting, when the trees are well established, in one of the ways 
which have been described. 

Intercultures with the Walnuts. — In the southern walnut regions 
it is common to grow beans, squashes, etc., between the rows of 
trees until the latter reach bearing age ; root crops which attract 
gophers should be avoided. Interplanting of smaller, early-fruit- 
ing trees is also practiced to a considerable extent, and alfalfa 
growing in the young walnut orchard is also practiced to some 
extent, but must be carefully done — if at all. 

PRUNING THE WALNUT 

The walnut is usually headed higher than ordinary orchard 
trees and the pruning needed is in shaping the tree. Upward trend 
of the branches should be secured, sometimes by cutting out the 
shoots which grow downward, sometimes by tying them up for a 
time to the central stem until they are stiff enough to retain this 
position. The stem should be protected from sunburn until the 
foliage accomplishes this. Whenever shoots are killed back by 
sunburn or frost, they should be cut oflf cleanly below the black 
mark which shows how far the injury has extended. If this is 
done, the die-back down the branch is usually prevented. As the 
trees become older, removal of some of the interior limbs may be 
desirable to admit more light to encourage inside bearing. 

Systematic Building of the Walnut Tree. — It is becoming clear 
that the old practice of allowing walnut trees to grow very much 
as they liked is not a good way. The following outline of the way 
to secure good form and serviceability, and applying to the walnut 
the principles indicated in Chapter XII, is drawn from the experi- 
ence of Mr. Eugene S. Kellogg, of Santa Barbara County: 

When planted from the nursery walnut trees are generally over six 
feet high and they should be headed back, the amount depending on their 
subsequent care. If no irrigation water is available, they are usually cut to 
a foot above the bud union and a new trunk is started. This new shoot 
should be carefully staked so as not to become injured by cultivating or 
strong winds. At the end of the first season's growth, this shoot should 
be headed to about five feet. You will then have a vigorous, healthy young 
trunk, which will make a more rapid growth during the next season than 
the tree would have made in two seasons had it been headed to five feet 
originally. 

Generally when the young tree is to have water it is headed about five 
feet above the ground. After the first season's growth, three main branches 



446 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

are selected and all others removed. Do not remove small branches and 
small spurs. These shade the tree. The three chosen branches should be 
about a foot apart and well distributed around the tree. Tf more than 
three branches are chosen, the tree becomes too spreading and the branches 
will later come down and become a nuisance. The three chosen branches 
should be headed to about three or four feet in length. 

At the end of the second year's growth each of these three main 
branches will have thrown out from four to eight branches. All but two 
on each of these should be removed.. These two should be headed to three 
or four feet from their origin and they should be in such a position so that 
their tips are equally distant from the center of the tree to secure an open 
center. After the third season's growth, each of the six branches is al- 
lowed to give rise to two branches and these two are heided back. Many 
small branches and fruiting spurs will have appeared all over ihe trees. 
These should be left. Heading back is very necessary at this time. The 
tree will have thrown out an immense amount of growth, and unless this is 
previously thinned and headed, the wind will either cause the tree to lean 
or else blow out large limbs completely. In pruning old trees the chief 
aim is to admit the sunlight; remove interfering limbs and limbs that in- 
terfere with cultivation. Generally every tree will fall into one of three 
types. These are the central shaft, vertical gore and goblet types. 

If a tree has a strong central leader, the chief aim is to emphasize this 
tendency. Thin out the branches which arise from the central leader. If 
a tree has a central leader and the main limbs originate one above the 
other, the best way to admit the light is by removing the smaller limbs in 
several wedge-shaped areas from the lower branches up. If four gores are 
cut, the tree would have the appearance of a four-leafed clover when viewed 
from a position above the tree. It will be necessary to thin out all v/eak 
wood in the areas between the gores. If there is no central leader and 
the tree has naturally an open center, this should be kept open. 

In shaping the walnut tree, such opening of the tree as is de- 
sirable near the coast may be undesirable or even dangerous in a 
hot interior situation. The bark is sensitive to sunburn and in ex- 
treme heat both leaves and nuts suffer and a more dense and self- 
shading tree should be developed. This will be secured in part by 
the style of pruning and in part by selection of a tree which nat- 
urally grows good foliage. 

Bloom and Bearing of the Walnut. — The walnut has its stam- 
inate and pistillate blooms separate, but both occur on the same 
tree. Successful fruiting depends upon the appearance of these two 
forms of bloom, without too great interval of time, and although 
there seems to be quite a retention of vitality, the lack of bearing 
of some varieties has been found to be due to the fact that the cat- 
kins disappear too long before the pistillate bloom was sufficiently 
developed to receive the pollen. 

The bearing age of the walnut depends upon the variety. Some 
of the French varieties are very precocious and have borne fruit 
in nursery row at two and three years old, but the pistillate blooms 
were then fertilized from catkins growing on older trees. The 
practical bearing age of the seedling English walnut in this State 
may be rated at, six to eight years, according to the variety. Trees 
grafted with scions from bearing trees fruit much sooner. 

Harvesting Walnuts. — Gathering walnuts is done in different 
ways. Some gather them from the ground at intervals during the 
months of September and October; others use poles and clean the 



HARVESTING WALNUTS 447 

trees at one operation ; some go over the ground three times, first 
picking up what have fallen ; second, picking up what have fallen 
and striking the limbs lightly to dislodge others which are ripest; 
third, picking up again and then knocking off all that remain on the 
trees. In this way gathering lasts a month or six weeks. As fast as 
gathered the nuts are placed in slat-bottomed trays, 6x3 feet, by six 
inches deep, about fifty pounds in a tray, being thoroughly shaken 
up once or twice a day. If the weather is very hot they should be 
dried in the shade. When the nuts are dry they are ready for 
grading, washing and bleaching. All of these operations are per- 
formed in the Walnut Growers' Association's warehouses, which are 
established in all the leading producing districts. Even small lots 
are handled, which is of advantage to the grower, as considerable 
outlay for apparatus is required and some experience is necessary 
to get the best results. 

Appliances and materials are being improved and changed from 
time to time as walnut handling is a progressive business. For 
bleaching, direct use of commercial chlorine has been introduced 
in some of the packing houses, but prevailing practice still employs 
proper machinery and dipping tanks in which the bleaching fluid 
consists of 25 lbs. of chloride of lime and 18 lbs. of sal soda, dis- 
solved in 50 gallons of water. After this solution is made and drawn 
off clear from the settlings, sulphuric acid is added to it at the rate 
of 1^ lbs. of acid to 425 lbs. of the solution. In this dip the nuts are 
quickly dipped (five to ten seconds) and then thoroughly dried at 
once. This process is hardly available for use on a small scale. In 
such case the walnuts can be improved by washing, brushing, or 
rolling in a perforated barrel to remove dirt, and then treated to 
sulphur fumes as has been described for almonds in the preceding 
chapter. In using sulphur it must be made sure that the walnut is 
well dried and then very lightly sprayed, so that only a film of mois- 
ture is present on the outside of the shell or the flavor of the kernel 
may be impaired. The walnut should be more lightly sulphured 
than the almond, as the same color is not desirable. 

Grading Walnuts. — Walnuts are commercially graded through 
a screen with square holes, measuring one and one-thirty-second 
inches square. The so-called No. 1, sold by the California Walnut 
Growers' Association, are the nuts which do not pass through this 
screen, and the No. 2's are those which pass through. Budded 
varieties are graded through a similar screen with holes measuring 
one and three-sixteenths inches square. The Diamond Brand Buds 
do not pass through, and the Golden State Buds are those which 
fall through. 

CALIFORNIA WALNUT VARIETIES 

Which is the best walnut variety to plant in California or in 
any particular region of the State is an open question and decision 
apparently still rests upon many coming years of experience in 
which all observant growers may participate. 



448 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The variety which constitutes the bulk of the crop is the "Santa 
Barbara soft shell," so called because the late Joseph Sexton of 
Santa Barbara County bought in San Francisco in 1867 a sack of 
imported walnuts, grew seedlings and planted out in orchard form 
two hundred of them in 1868. When they fruited he noticed that 
sixty of them were of fairly uniform type, superior to the others 
and to the other walnuts commonly grown at that time, and he 
used them, and sold them to others, to grow seedlings for orchard 
planting. Thus the Santa Barbara soft shell is not strictly speaking 
a "variety" but a type shown by many seedlings, and it showed 
variability enough to suggest selection for "improvement," which 
was followed to the extent of securing nuts from particular trees 
for planting, but still practically all the trees were seedlings until 
grafting to secure better quality and form, heavier bearing, resist- 
ance to blight, etc., began about 1905 to multiply particular seed- 
lings because of their distinctive desirability. Although grafting 
seedlings for planting and grafting-over bearing trees also, have 
rapidly increased in the chief walnut districts, the commercial prod- 
uct is still largely from seedling trees descending naturally from 
Mr. Sexton's selected type, which demonstrated remarkable suit- 
ability to Southern California coast conditions and satisfied trade 
requirements for large production. 

Although seedlings from Southern California, both the original 
type, which Mr. Sexton's work displaced, and the Sexton type itself, 
were planted at many points in Northern and Central California 
and made large and thrifty trees, they bloomed too early to escape 
frost and they were too susceptible to injury by summer heat in 
the interior, which rarely invaded the coast region even at the 
south. In 1871 Mr. Felix Gillet began to introduce to his place near 
Nevada City the best French walnut varieties as grafted trees, 
contrasted their bearing with adjacent non-productive "Los An- 
geles walnuts" and demonstrated such superior performance that 
he continued importation and propagation until he had introduced 
all the French varieties which we now have and stimulated other 
nurserymen to their introduction and propagation to the end that 
these varieties were planted here and there throughout California 
and to the States northward. 

The work of these two pioneers has thus far reached this con- 
clusion : The Sexton selections and their descendants rule at the 
south and fail elsewhere in the State ; the Gillet imported French 
varieties lead elsewhere in the State and are less desirable at the 
south. 

The varieties most largely propagated in 1921 are Placentia Per- 
fection, Santa Barbara Soft Shell, Eureka, Franquette, Mayette, 
Concord, Payne's Seedling. 

Varieties which have enjoyed some prominence may be briefly 
characterized as follows : 

Santa Barbara Soft Shell (origin already noted). — Nuts urually of good 
size, easily cracked in the fingers, and of excellent flavor and quality; se- 
lections named as follows: Placentia Perfection, Discher's Prolific, Neff, El 
Monte, Pride of Ventura and others. 



CALIFORNIA WALNUT VARIETIES 449 

Placentia Perfection. — Medium size, smooth, fairly uniform; shell thin 
but strong, and fairly well sealed; kernel light tan in color, fairlv smooth, 
mild flavor, fills shell well; early; generally looked upon as the best, thor- 
oughly tried variety for the southern part of the State. Sells as "budded" 
at advanced price. 

Eureka. — Nuts large, fairly uniform, elongated; medium smoothness; 
shell medium to thick and well sealed; kernel light cream color, of medium 
plumpness and is easily cracked out whole; foliage dense and leaves large; 
blooms late; doing well in interior valleys. 

Franquette. — This French variety rose to great favor and has been 
largely planted upon the successful experience of Mrs. Emily M. Vrooman, 
of Santa Rosa, and the extensive effort at its distribution by the Oregon 
Nursery Co., of Salem, Ore. It is a large, elongate-oval nut with shell 
rather thick and kernel of high quality. It is a late bloomer and escapes 
blight to a certain extent. 

Mayette. — This variety chiefly constitutes the imported Grenoble wal- 
nuts. It is large, roundish, with a broad base, on which nut will sit up; 
shell thin and white; kernel full and rich; a good bearer and late bloomer; 
local Mayette seedlings are being named; one is the "San Jose," by R. 
Wiltz, of San Jose — in disfavor because of shy bearing. 

Concord. — Seedling of Cluster; of the Mayette type, grown by Messrs. 
Westgate and Hutchinson of Concord from seedling tree by Felix Gillet. 
Introduced by Mr. Leonard Coates in 1908. Claimed to be blight resistant. 

Pa3me's Seedling. — Nut is of good average quality, of good size and 
moderately smooth; has attracted attention by its precocity and quite heavy 
production of nuts; somewhat susceptible to blight, and by early blooming 
gets caught by frost; most largely planted about Linden, San Joaquin 
County. 

Bijou Seedlings. — Several of these are being grown. Willson's Wonder, 
introduced by F. C. Willson, of Santa Clara, is a large, smooth, desirable 
nut, and the tree is reported an early and prolific bearer. 

Other French Varieties. — Other French varieties introduced by Mr. 
Gillet and others include the following: The Cluster, which fruits, as its 
name indicates, in long bunches, sometimes as many as fifteen in a bunch. 
The Parisienne is a beautiful variety, the nut large, broad and shapely; the 
tree blooms very late. All the foregoing varieties and the Franquette, Ser- 
otina, Barthere, Mesange, Gant, Meylan and Chaberte, were introduced by 
Mr. Gillet in 1871. 

Kaghazi. — A variety called Kaghazi was grown and propagated for sev- 
eral years by the late James Shinn, of Niles; large and thin-shelled; late in 
putting out leaves and blossoms; source of some promising seedlings. 

Japanese Walnut; Juglans Sieboldiana. — This species, native to the north 
of Japan, was introduced to California about 1860, and a tree grown from 
seed planted about that time is growing at the Tower House, in Shasta 
County. Hard shell and only interesting in walnut breeding. 



CHAPTER XL 

NUTS OF MINOR IMPORTANCE 

Nut-bearing plants from all parts of the world have been intro- 
duced to California and probably all of them, except those of strictly 
tropical requirements, may be found growing successfully here and 
there throughout the State. Only the almond and the walnut have 
risen to great commercial importance and only a few others have 
passed beyond amateurs' interests. 

THE CHESTNUT 

The chestnut is not yet produced in large amount in California, 
and certain quantities of the nuts are annually imported, the Amer- 
ican, Italian, or Spanish and Japanese all being found in the San 
Francisco markets. Of chestnuts grown in California, the Italian 
predominates, and judging by its success it may be said that a large 
area of California is well suited for the growth of the chestnut, as 
there are bearing trees in nearly all parts of the State. The chestnut 
succeeds on heavy, clayey soil, even if it be rocky. 

Chestnut trees are readily grown from the seed, and come into 
bearing from six to eight years, though the Japanese sometimes 
bear sooner. The growth of chestnuts from the seed is described 
in Chapter VIII. In growing from seed of the improved varieties, 
there is a tendency toward reversion, and budding and grafting 
may be done by the methods described in the chapter on the fig. 
The chestnut can also be grafted with the ordinary cleft graft. 
Buds or scions should be taken from trees which are fruiting satis- 
factorily, and in this way seedlings which have a tendency to bear 
empty burs can be turned to good account. Chestnuts can be grown 
in the nursery until several years old, providing they are lifted at 
the end of the first year, the tap-root cut of¥, and the trees reset, 
giving them rather more room than during their first year's growth. 
In permanent plantings the trees should have plenty of room, as 
they ultimately attain great size. Trees at Grass Valley, Nevada 
County, when about twenty years old, fifteen inches in diameter of 
tirunk^ and forty feet high, are reported to bear a barrel of nuts 
to the tree regularly. Felix Gillet of Nevada City for many years 
made a specialty of propagating a large collection of the improved 
French varieties known as "Marrons," which were distributed to 
some extent. The chestnut, aside from its desirability as an orchard 
tree, can be commended as a tree for hillsides or a shade tree for 
waysides of pastures, and should be more widely planted in Cali- 
fornia. The chief product is in the foothill district east of the San 
Joaquin Valley. 

Quite a number of improved chestnuts of the American species 
have been planted in California. Mr. A. L. Wisker of Grass Valley 



FILBERT AND PEANUT 451 

has several such varieties, of which the "Rochester No. 20" has 
seemed most promising. The California Mountain Fruit Co. of 
Grass Valley has a ten-acre orchard of chestnuts planted to test 
bearing and profitability. The fruit ripens in October and the tree 
has also late blooms and burs setting at the same time — which 
creates a doubt as to whether the American species knows how to 
behave in our salubrious foothill climate as well as the South 
European species do. It is stated that American varieties do not 
graft on Japanese or European seedlings as well as they do upon 
seedlings of the American wild nuts. 

THE FILBERT 

The best English cob-nuts have been quite widely tried in Cali- 
fornia without successful results. Improved Spanish and French 
varieties of the filbert were early introduced by Felix Gillet, of 
Nevada City, and have been favorably reported by him as to growth 
and bearing. A few other growers in foothill situations have re- 
ported success, but as a rule disappointment has attended ventures 
with the filbert. The most favorable regions for farther experiment 
are apparently the north slopes of the Coast Range, from Santa 
Cruz northward, and other cooler and moister situations, as well as 
at an elevation on the Sierra foothills. Mr. Leonard Coates of 
Morgan Hill has recently given much attention to the filbert and 
has introduced the most prolific European varieties. He has assur- 
ance! of the fruitfulness of the plant when pruned to encourage 
growth of fruiting wood and necessary pollination is provided for. 

THE PEANUT 

A few peanuts have been grown in California in a great many 
localities for perhaps fifty years, and most of the attempts to pro- 
duce them have proven unprofitable and been abandoned. At one 
time Orange County produced something like twenty carloads an- 
nually, but later abandoned the crop as unprofitable. During 1919 
and 1920 peanut growing was taken up by Mr. A. R. Miller of Fon- 
tana, San Bernardino County, on light, sandy soil and is credited 
with producing 1500 lbs. per acre on a large acreage in 1920. The 
crop was handled from planting to threshing with modified bean- 
growing implements and machinery — the whole crop being sold in 
Los Angeles. The "Spanish" peanut was planted in April and May 
and harvested in September. Furrow irrigation was employed,) first 
after planting and three more at intervals of about three weeks. 

For small scale growing these hints may be given : peanuts 
require sandy sediment to give the best results. It is better to shell 
the seed and plant one kernel in a hill, 18 inches apart in the rows 
which are three feet apart. Plant the seed two or three inches deep, 
in good moist earth so as to insure germination. Plant as soon as 
frosts are over, in April or May, as they need about six months to 
complete their growth. There is very little land that will produce 



452 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

crops without irrigation. If irrigation is necessary, it must be by 
the furrow method, and no flooding must be permitted. 

THE PECAN 

The pecan, by rapid growth, early fruiting, and general thrift, 
seems to be the member of the hickory family best fitted for Cali- 
fornia conditions. A tree grown from a nut planted by J. R. Wolf- 
skill, on Putah Creek, in 1878, was, when twenty-five years old, 
over fifty feet high, with a trunk twelve inches in diameter, grow- 
ing luxuriantly and bearing freely. Still older trees, also very satis- 
factory in growth and bearing, are to be seen at Chico and Visalia. 
The pecan, though grown for thirty years by different parties 
around the Bay of San Francisco, either does not bear or keeps the 
nuts hanging on until sometimes they sprout on the tree. The 
wider extremes in temperature or in humidity in the interior seem 
to teach the trees better habits of growth and rest, and moist low- 
lands in the great valleys seem best for pecan planting. 

Pecan trees grow readily from the nuts if these are fresh. Plant- 
ers should secure nuts of selected varieties (for there is a great 
difference in size and quality) direct from growers in the Southern 
States, and plant as soon as received, in the early winter, or if con- 
ditions are not favorable for planting, the nuts should be stored as 
described in Chapter VIII. Nuts planted in good nursery ground 
in rows as there suggested, and covered about two inches or a little 
deeper in dry, loose soil, and then mulched to retain moisture, will 
germinate freely. The trees should be transplanted to permanent 
place at the end of the first year and then usually the tap-root can 
be retained, as some growers deem very desirable ; if the trees are 
to be put in permanent place later they should be transplanted in 
the nursery and the tap-root cut oft". The nuts can, of course, be 
planted at once in permanent place. 

THE PISTACHIO 

The pistachio nut (Pistachia vera) was introduced many years 
ago, but commercial results are only just beginning to be attained. 
The species upon its own root makes a low shrub and is slow of 
growth. The Pistachia terebinthus, from which is derived the "chio 
turpentine," the stock the true pistachio is grafted upon in Europe, 
is growing thriftily at several points in the State. Several amateurs 
and nurserymen have given enthusiastic effort to the establishment 
of the nut in this State. The United States Department of Agri- 
culture has also worked largely with it and has distributed about 
25,000 of the trees during recent years. The largest plantations 
are in the interior valleys and the product is now being attained 
in that region. Tribble Bros, at Elk Grove had 250 trees, five-year- 
old grafts, in bearing in 1918. C. J. Forbes has 150 trees the same 
age and there are about five acres on the Mills orchard at Hamilton 
City. The fruiting of the pistachio depends upon pollination, and 
one male tree is necessary to six or seven bearing trees. 



PART EIGHT: FRUIT PRESERVATION 



CHAPTER XLI 



FRUIT CANNING AND DRYING 

The fruit-canning enterprises of California expanded almost be- 
yond anticipation after the outbreak of the world-war in 1914. The 
opportunities for development and the relation of our almost unlim- 
ited capacity for the production of fine fruits to the new concep- 
tion of the dietetic value of preserved fruits and of the inadequacy 
of production in other parts of the world to meet the demand which 
this conception created, aroused wonderful interest in the capabili- 
ties of California. Increased capital from outside sources was at- 
tracted and the reorganization for administration and production 
of our greatest proprietary concerns was accomplisfi-^. There was 
also development of co-operative concerns, largely by fruit growers, 
which are rising as a factor in production in several districts. So 
great has been the development of the industry that the facts about 
estabHshments, capital invested and labor employed, etc., gathered 
by the U. S. Census Bureau in 1914, fail to be representative, and 
measurements must be awaited until the facts are set forth in the 
manufacturing statistics of the Census of 1920. It is, however, suf- 
ficiently clear that California leads the United States in the fruit- 
canning industry as for many years past and leads now by a wider 
margin than ever before. 

Statistics of production of canned goods which have fortuntely 
been carefully compiled by private enterprise* for a number of 
years, do indicate both the rate of expansion and the relative 
amounts of particular kinds of fruits which the industry requires 



California canned product fruit for the years indicated. 

1919 

134,245 

4,395,204 

114,349 

460,614 

104,446 

11,708 

1,962,700 

1,962,700 

5,096,240 

280,261 

233 

22,123 

42,584 





1913 


Apples 


80,250 


Apricots 


898,005 


Blackberries 


103,005 


Cherries 


351,895 


Grapes 


46,915 


Loganberries 


21,370 


Pears 


874,200 


Peaches, free 


583,800 


Peaches, cling 


1,630,255 


Plums 


175,290 


Raspberries 


9,090 


Strawberries 


34,470 


Other fruits 


2,290 



1920 

9,041 

2.312,020 

161,359 

647,377 

114,886 

14,267 

1,184,288 

1,547,687 

5,205,511 

164,740 

5,525 
15,562 



Totals 4,730,835 13,696,403 11,382,863 

The figures represent "cases" of 24 2i^ lb. tins or their equivalents. 

•Notably by Mr. Howard C. Rowley, editor of the California Fruit News of San Fran- 



454 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

from the growers. The figures show almost a three-fold increase of 
the pre-war product, reaching its peak in 1919. The unsettled con- 
dition of affairs including adverse exchange and transportation costs 
made slow sales in 1920 and reduced output in 1921, but the outlook 
is unclouded and notable increase in production is to be anticipated. 
Fruit Varieties Preferred by Canners. — It is manifestly the duty 
as well as the desire of growers to produce an ample supply of fruits 
which meet canners' requirements. Among these requirements are 
satisfactory size, clear unblemished beauty, color which will not 
interfere with the clear gold of the sirup, and texture which will 
endure processing without yielding a desirable degree of firmness 
and not slough off cells or fibers to cloud the sirup. To such basic 
characters everything desirable in flavors should be added. There 
are some variations in desirability produced by difference in local 
growing conditions which aft'ect desirability of any particular fruit 
variety and there may be canners' personal equations also involved 
to some extent. At all events it is generally wise for new planters 
to consult local cannery superintendents and consider the advice 
which they may give in connection with other uses which may be 
made of the prospective fruit. The following sketch of varieties 
chiefly used by canners may be taken as suggestive, and not ex- 
clusive of other varieties, but indicative of the types desired. More 
specific information of varieties commended by canners for future 
planting is given in the chapters devoted to the fruits chiefly de- 
sired by them: 

Apples — Yellow Newtown Pippin; firm, white-fleshed apple re- 
quired. 

Apricots — Royal, Blenheim, Hemskirke, Moorpark, Tilton. 

Cherries — Royal Anne, Rockport ; soft white cherries not avail- 
able and black varieties not largely used. 

Figs — Kadota, Calimyrna. 

Grapes — Muscat. 

Peaches — (free) Muir, Lovell, Foster, Early Crawford, etc. ; 
(cling) Tuskena Orange, McKevitt, Seller's, Phillips, Levy. 

Pears — Bartlett. 

Plums — Yellow Egg, Bavay's Green Gage, Golden Drop, Dam- 
son, Washington, Jefferson. 

Blackberries — Mammoth, Lawton. 

Loganberries — Phenomenal, Logan. 

Strawberries — Clarke, Wilson and similar firm varieties. Vari- 
eties chiefly grown for fresh use too soft for canning. 

Raspberries — Cuthbert, Antwerp. 

The literature of the California canning industry has been not- 
ably extended during the last few years and very satisfactory special 
publications are now available.* 

*Of California commercial canning operations, detailed account is given in "The Can- 
ning of Fruits and Vegetables," by J. P. Zavalla, published by John Wiley & Sons, New 
York, 1916. Of small scale operations, the California Experiment Station at Berkeley has 
published many pamphlets and leaflets, and a complete treatise is also available; viz.: "Home 
and Farm Food Preservation," by Prof. W. V. Cruess, of the University of California, pub- 
lished by the Macmillan Co., New York, 1918. 



WHY CALIFORNIA DRIED FRUITS EXCEL 455 

CALIFORNIA DRIED FRUIT INDUSTRY 

A special census of the fruit-preserving manufactures of the 
United States in 1914 shows not only that California stands first in 
the dried fruit industry, but that the product was in that year valued 
at $30,771,912, and was 88.4 per cent of the whole national product. 
An adjacent tabulation gives interesting details of this product for a 
number of years. 

As suggested in Chapter II it is the function of the sunshine and 
dry air of California not only to bring vigorous growth to the tree 
and vine, and carry the fruit of both to fullness of size, beauty and 
quality, but to continue its beneficent action until the fruit, which 
is not required by the trade in fresh ripeness, is given imperishable 
form, in which its beauty, flavors, aromas and nutritive qualities 
remain available to delight and nourish mankind until the following 
year's sunshine wins from the earth another supply of fresh ripe- 
ness. There are many parts of the earth where good fruit is grown; 
there are few where conditions producing such fruit continue to 
accomplish its preservation, as they do in California. 

Product of California Cured Fruits in Tons— 1890 to 1920. 



Year 


Peaches 


Apricots 


Apples 


Pears 


Plums 


Nec- 
tarines 


Grapes 

I 


Figs 


Prunes 


Raisins 


1890 


3,200 


3,000 


400 


100 


250 


200 




100 


9,200 


4,000 


1895 


12,250 


5,325 


2,280 


2,700 


2,250 


675 


2,i25 


1,325 


32,250 


45,680 


1900 


17,170 


14,000 


3,150 


7,275 


1,950 


435 


240 


2,000 


87,000 


47,167 


1905 


17,500 


19,250 


3,250 


1,750 


930 


185 


193 


3,625 


37,500 


43.750 


1910 


25,000 


16,000 


3,100 


1,000 


375 


250 


350 


3,775 


45,000 


62,000 


1911 


14,000 


11,000 


3,500 


1.500 


250 


200 


119 


5,500 


95,000 


65,000 


1912 


18,000 


10,000 


2,000 


1,000 


200 


200 


100 


5.000 


102.000 


95.000 


1913 


20,000 


9,000 


2,000 


1,000 


600 


200 


120 


6,000 


45,000 


70.000 


1914 


34,700 


20,000 


4,000 


1,500 


750 


300 




5.000 


60,000 


98,000 


1915 


28,500 


16,000 


4,000 


1,000 


950 


200 




7.500 


67.000 


127,000 


1916 


29,000 


11,000 


4,500 


800 


600 


200 




8,200 


65.000 


136,000 


1917 


39,000 


16,000 


4,000 


1,100 


900 


200 




11.000 


112,000 


163.000 


1918 


19,500 


14,500 


5,750 


2.000 


500 


200 




7,300 


40,000 


167,000 


1919 


34,000 


15.500 


12,500 


5,750 


* 


_ * 


* 


12,000 


140.000 


197,500 


1920 


24,000 


10,000 


5,000 


2,500 








12,000 


95,000 


155.000 



WHY THE DRIED FRUIT PRODUCT IS GREAT 

In connection with this notable factor of our horticultural pro- 
duction, certain facts should be clearly understood by those who 
desire to properly appreciate the industrial resources of the State. 

First. Cured fruits in California are a primary and not a sec- 
ondary or by-product. It is true, of course, that curing fruit does, 
to a limited extent, save from loss fruit which shippers and canners 
are not at the time paying profitable prices for, and it frees growers 
from helpless dependence upon fresh fruit buyers. But this does 
not mean that curing is a way of getting something from refuse 
fruit, not suited for other purposes. It should be taken as evidence 
that, for the most part, grades of fruit which are cured are the same 



*The product of dried pitted plums and nectarines has always been small and arbitrarily- 
estimated. Probably it was as usual in these years. Dried grapes practically were negligible 
for several years until prohibition awakened a demand for home fermentations at the East. 
The present product of dried grapes is considerable, but not of record. It would be much 
larger were it not for prices paid for fresh grapyes for overland shipment — inducing the great 
increase in this movement shown in the table on page SO. 



456 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

which are also available for shipping and canning when prices are 
right. 

Second. Because our cured fruits are a primary and not a by- 
product, free investment is made in acres of well-made trays; in 
tramways and turntables for their movement from the shelter of 
convenient cutting or dipping and spreading houses ; in capacious 
apartments and mechanical devices for giving the cut fruit its bath 
in sulphur fumes to preserve natural colors and to prevent fermenta- 
tion and insect invasion ; in the carefully prepared drying floors ; 
in well-fitted packing houses. Such investment has reached many 
millions of dollars in the aggregate, and the standing of cured fruits 
as primary products is the justification of such outlay. 

Third. Forty years ago California dried fruit was a make- 
shift, and a disgracefully poor one. As enterprise and investment 
proceeded it was soon seen that style and quality alone could re- 
quite them. It was then believed that handsome cured fruit which 
should only be relieved of its excess of water and still retain color, 
flavor and winning beauty, could only be produced in machine- 
evaporators with artificial heat, and a few years were given to 
invention, purchase and rejection of all such devices except as 
occasional refuges when the California climate forgets itself. When 
the demonstration came that with proper pre-treatment California 
sunshine and dry air would produce notably fine evaporated fruits 
without houses and furnaces, cured fruits entered upon their career 
as primary products, and planting to produce them began. 

Fourth. The fruit must be well grown, and fruit for curing 
should have the size and quality which make it first class for other 
purposes, with the added excellence of being somewhat more 
mature, because it is not required to stand hauling and shipment. 
It should, however, be carefully handled to escape bruising, because 
discolorations are blemishes. It must be cleanly cut for removal 
of pit or core, because trimness, neatness and shapliness are all 
essential to beauty. It must be carefully and evenly spread upon 
the trays, especially if it be a cut fruit, so that no interference can 
prevent each piece from reaching its best estate. Sulphuring must 
be adequate, and yet not excessive; for sulphuring is a protecting 
and not a resurrecting process; it is not to improve bad fruit, but 
to keep good fruit from becoming bad. The fruit must be suf- 
ficiently dried and yet not over-dried, and during the process must 
be protected from dust by the situation and character of the ground 
used, even if such protection costs trouble and outlay. 

Trays for Drying. — The greater part of the fruit, including 
raisins, is placed upon trays for exposure to the sun. There is great 
variation in the size of the trays. The common small tray is made 
of one-half inch sugar-pine lumber two feet wide and three feet 



Cross-section of small drying tray. 



CALIFORNIA SUNSHINE EVAPORATION 457 

long, the boards forming it being held together by nailing to a cleat 
on each end, one by one and a quarter inches, and a lath or narrow 
piece of half-inch stuff is nailed over the ends of the boards, thus 
stiffening the tray and aiding to prevent warping, A cross-section 
of such a tray is shown at A. 

Since large drying yards have been supplied with tramways and 
trucks for moving the fruit instead of hand carriage, larger trays, 
three feet by six or three feet by eight, have been largely em- 
ployed. These large trays are of nailing "pine shakes" which are 
3 ft. long, and 6 in. wide. The sides and ends of the trays are made 
of 1x2 in. pine or redwood. The bottom is strengthened by nailing 
to the under side, from end to end, three thin strips, one on each 
side and one in the middle. The laths and pieces for sides and 
ends, cut ready for use, may be obtained from lumber dealers. 

Paper trays of heavy brown paper are often used in emergencies. 
They are cut the size of the wooden trays, covered with cut fruit — 
the wooden tray being slipped out after carrying to the drying 
ground. They are not a good substitute for wooden trays, however. 

Protecting Fruit from Dew. — In the interior there is seldom any 
deposit of dew in the drying season, but occasionally there are early 
rains before the drying season is over. The fruit is then protected 
by piling the trays one upon another, in which operation the thick 
cleats serve a good purpose. In small scale operations in dewy 
regions the trays are sometimes piled at night, or cloth or paper is 
stretched over the fruit, thus reducing the discoloration resulting 
from deposits of moisture upon it. 

Drying Floors. — For the most part the trays are laid directly on 
the ground, but sometimes a staging of posts and rails is built to 
support them, about twenty inches from the ground. In raisin- 
making the drying trays are usually distributed through the vine- 
yard, to have as little carrying as possible. In drying tree fruits 
the trays are spread where full sunshine can be obtained. Drying 
spaces should be selected at a distance from traveled roads, to pre- 
vent the deposit of dust on the fruit. 

Spaces used for drying are often idle the rest of the year or are 
cultivated for grain-hay. When one has water for irrigation it is 
often practicable to reduce dust and secure an amount of desirable 
feed or hay by putting the piece down in alfalfa. Just before the 
space is needed for a drying yard, the alfalfa is mown down close 
and raked clean. The yard is then ready for the trays and fruit. 
When the drying season is over the yard is cleared, and the space 
then is as clean as a clay floor, from being used so much. In three 
weeks the top of the ground is green all over, and before the rains 
come there is another cutting of alfalfa. 

Drying floors are, however, usually kept bare and as hard as 
may be. Drying over alfalfa stubble is slower than over dry, baked 
ground. It is common to scrape the ground clean with a weed-knife 
and roll or rub it down as smooth and hard as possible. 



458 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Grading. — It is of great advantage in drying to have all the fruit 
on a tray of approximately the same size, and grading before cut- 
ting is advisable. Machines are made which accomplish this very 
cheaply and quickly. 

Cutting-Sheds. — Shelter of some kind is always provided for the 
fruit-cutters. Sometimes it is only a temporary bower made of 
poles and beams upon which tree branches are spread as a thatch, 
sometimes open-side sheds with boarded roof; and sometimes a 
finished fruit-house is built, two stories high, the lower story open- 
ing with large doors on the north side, with a large loft above, 
where the dried fruit can be sweated, packed and stored for sale. 
The climate is such that almost any shelter which suits the taste of 
the purse of the producer will answer the purpose. 

Sulphuring. — The regulations promulgated under the pure food 
law enacted by Congress in 1906 established an arbitrary limit to 
the percentage of sulphur compounds in evaporated fruits, which 
was shown by producers to be destructive to their industry, and 
otherwise unwarranted and unreasonable. As a result of their 
protest the enforcement of such regulations was indefinitely post- 
poned, pending the results of scientific investigation which began 
in 1898 and never ended, and the use of sulphur has not been inter- 
fered with. 

Before the employment of the sulphur process, California cured 
fruits were suitable only to the lowest culinary uses. They were 
of undesirable color, devoid of natural flavor, offensive by content 
of insect life. They had no value which would induce production 
and discernible future. Placing the trays of freshly cut fruit in 
boxes or small "houses" with the fumes of burning sulphur, made 
it possible to preserve its natural color and flavor during the evapo- 
ration of its surplus moisture in the clear sunshine and dry air of 
the California summer. It also prevented souring, which with some 
fruits is otherwise not preventable in such open-air drying, and it 
protected the fruit from insect attack during the drying process. 

The action of sulphuring is not alone to protect the fruit, it 
facilitates evaporation so that about one-half less time is required 
therefor. Not the least important bearing of this fact is the feasi- 
bility of curing fruits in larger pieces. The grand half-peaches, 
half-apricots, half-pears of California are the direct result of the 
sulphur process. Without it the fruit must be cut into small sec- 
tions or ribbons, which in cooking break down into an uninviting 
mass, while, with the sulphuring, it is ordinary practice to produce 
the splendid halves with their natural color so preserved that they 
have semblance to the product of the canners and are secured at a 
fraction of the cost. 

There are various enclosures or houses for the application of 
sulphur fumes to the freshly cut fruit. Some are small for hand 
carriage of trays ; some are large and the trays are wheeled into 
them upon trucks. The most common is a bottomless cabinet about 



TREATMENT OF FRUITS AFTER DRYING 459 

five or six feet high, of a width equal to the length of the tray and 
a depth a little more than the width of the tray. The cabinet has a 
door the whole width of one side, and on the sides within cleats are 
nailed so that the trays of fruit slip in like drawers into a bureau. 
Some push in the trays so that the bottom one leaves a little space 
at the back, the next a little space at the front, and so on, that the 
fumes may be forced by the draft to pass between the trays back 
and forward. The essentials seem to be open holes or dampers 
in the bottom and top of the cabinet so that the fumes from the 
sulphur burning at the bottom may be thoroughly distributed 
through the interior, and then all openings are tightly closed. To 
secure a tight chamber the door has its edge felted and the cabinet 
is made of matched lumber. Some sulphuring houses are made of 
reinforced concrete. Some are merely frames freshly covered with 
building paper each season. The sulphur is usually put on a shovel 
or iron pot, and it is ignited by a hot coal, or a hot iron, or it is 
thrown on paper of which the edges are set on fire, or a little alco- 
hol is put on the sulphur and lighted, etc. The sulphur is usually 
burned in a pit in the ground under the cabinet. The application 
of sulphur must be watchfully and carefully made, and the ex- 
posure of the fruit should only be long enough to accomplish the 
end desired. The exposure required differs with different fruits, 
and with the same fruits in different conditions, and must be learned 
by experience. 

There is much variation in the sizes of houses built to take in 
truck loads of trays — some large enough for one truck, some for 
two, some built in compartments taking truck-loads side by side, 
some long, to take a train of trucks end to end; in one case 54 feet 
long, open at both ends, and tram-tracks running through. 

Grading and Cleaning. — After the fruit is sufficiently dried 
(and it is impossible to describe how this point may be recognized 
except by the experienced touch), it is gathered from the trays into 
large boxes and taken to the fruit house. Some growers put it into 
a revolving drum of punctured sheet iron, Avhich rubs the pieces to- 
gether and separates it form dust, etc., which falls out through the 
apertures as the drum revolves. Others empty the fruit upon a 
large wire-cloth table and pick it over, grading according to size 
and color, and at the same time the dust and small particles of for- 
eign matter fall through the wire-cloth. The fanning mill for clean- 
ing grain may also be used for rapid separation of dirt, leaves, etc., 
with proper arrangement of metal screens. 

Sweating. — All fruit, if stored in mass after drying, becomes 
moist. This action should take place before packing. To facilitate 
it, the fruit is put in piles on the floor of the fruit-house and turned 
occasionally with a scoop shovel; or, if allowed to sweat in boxes, 
the fruit is occasionally poured from one box to another. The 
sweating equalizes the moisture throughout the mass. Some large 
producers have sweat-rooms with tight walls, which preserve an 



450 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

even temperature. No fruit should be packed before "going through 
the sweat." If this is not done, discoloration and injury will result. 

Dipping Before Packing. — All fruits except prunes can be 
packed in good condition without dipping, providing the fruit is not 
over-dried. Efforts should be made to take up the fruit when it is 
just sufficiently cured to prevent subsequent fermentation. If taken 
from the trays in the heat of the day and covered so that the fruit 
moth cannot reach it there is little danger of worms. The highest 
grades of fruit are made in this way. If, however, the fruit has 
been over-dried or neglected, it can be dipped in boiling water to 
kill eggs of vermin and to make the fruit a little more pliable for 
the press. The dipping should be done quickly, and the fruit al- 
lowed to drain and then lie in a dark room, carefully covered, for 
twenty-four hours before packing. 

Packing. — To open well, packages of dried fruit should be 
"faced." The many fine arts of paper lining, etc., must be learned 
by observation. Flatten some fair specimens of the fruit to be 
packed (and reference is especially made to such fruits as apricots, 
peaches and nectarines) by running them through a clothes wringer 
or similar pair of rollers set to flatten but not crush the fruit. Do 
not face with better fruit than the package is to contain. It is a 
fraud which will not in the end be profitable. Lay the flattened 
fruit (cup side down) neatly in the bottom of the box. Fill the 
box until it reaches the amount the box is to contain, and then 
apply the press until the bottom can be nailed on. Invert the box 
and put on the label or brand ; the bottom then becomes the top. 

Many different kinds of boxes are used. A very good size is 
made of seasoned pine, six inches deep by nine inches wide by 
fifteen inches long, inside measurement, and it will hold twenty-five 
pounds of fruit. 

METHODS WITH DIFFERENT FRUITS 

It will be impossible to enter minutely into the operations of 
drying and packing on a commercial scale, or even to notice all the 
small and ingenious arts by which the work is facilitated. Any one 
who contemplates production on a large scale should personally 
visit leading regions and inform himself by inquiry and observa- 
tion. Such an education will save mistakes, which may cost many 
times the expense of getting wise. California producers are usually 
quite willing to show visitors the methods they employ. Though 
this is the better way of proceeding, a few general hints will be 
given of methods with different fruits. 

Apples. — There seems little use of drying apples unless a very 
light-colored, handsome product can be turned out. This can be 
done by sulphuring as soon as cut, and sun-drying in a dry region, 
or by the use of a machine evaporator in regions of greater atmos- 



DRYING APRICOTS AND FIGS 



461 



pheric humidity. Recently the product has largely increased in such 
large producing regions as the Pajaro Valley, and nearly a hundred 
drying houses are being operated. 

Apricots. — Apricots for drying should be fully ripe but not soft 
enough to be mushy. By the use of sulphur and sun heat, an amber- 
colored, semi-translucent fruit is obtained. The prevailing method of 
gathering is to shake down the fruit upon sheets, but the best pro- 
duct is hand-picked. Pit the fruit by a clean cut completely around 
in the suture; do not cut part way around and then tear apart — a 
clean-cut edge is essential. Put on the trays with the skin down, or 
with the cup up, as it is sometimes described; sulphur and then put 
in the sun. 

Fine apricots are produced in the interior valley by stacking the 
trays as they come from the sulphur house and not exposing the 
fruit at all to direct sunshine. Some start in the sun and finish in 
the stack. Sufficient curing is not determined by length of exposure 
but by the condition of the fruit. One grower describes it as "a 
feel like chamois skin and refusal to slip through the fingers when 
pressing." Another grower squeezes a double handful of the fruits 
and if they fall apart on opening the hands he considers it safe to 
put in the bins. The same tests are suggestive also in the case of 
other cut fruits. 

A few apricots are dried whole, but the demand for them is not 
yet demonstrated. 

Berries and Cherries. — These fruits are only dried in the sun 
in small quantities, and ordinary farm-house methods are employed. 

Figs. — The fruit is generally gathered from the ground, which 
is cleaned and smoothed before the crop ripens. In drying black 
figs the fruit is placed on trays and in most cases exposed to the 
sun, but some growers maintain the advantage of drying in the 
shade. 

The Adriatics are sulphured. Smyrnas usually are not. Adriatics 
are dried in direct sunlight from one to three days, depending 
upon the heat and humidity, while Smyrnas are best dried by stack- 
ing the trays so as to allow free circulation of air. Over-dried figs 
become tough, woody and inferior. After sorting out the blem- 
ished fruit, the figs are dumped from the trays into the perforated 
containers, washed for twenty minutes in cold water containing four 
ounces of salt to the gallon of water and again spread out for a 
final drying of half a day in the sun. They are then placed in piles 
on a clean floor or in sweat-boxes, and allowed to go through a 
sweat for about two weeks, being turned two or three times during 
that period. Sweating equalizes the moisture and gives a better 
texture. The figs can then be stored for packing or sent to the 
packing house. 

Pears. — California dried pears have been largely made of culls 
and windfalls unsuitable for canning or shipping, but there is devel- 
oping a product from the best pears which is of high excellence. 



462 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



It is made chiefly of fruit picked when the stem parts upon raising 
with the hand. The tree is picked over three times, the fruit of 
each picking kept by itself and allowed to ripen in the shade before 
cutting at just the right degree of mellowness. The fruit is halved, 
stem pulled out and the calyx cut out smoothly, not pared nor cored. 
It is sulphured heavily to secure an amber-colored translucent prod- 
uct. Exposure to the fumes for 48 hours is frequent. Then the 
trays are placed in the sun for one-half to one day and curing is 
finished in the stack — allowing the curing to occupy from two to 
four weeks, according to atmospheric conditions. The fruit when 
finished to a leathery texture is held in sweat-boxes for some time. 
Dried pears should never be put in sacks or in bins of any quantity ; 
if they are they will invariably run together and make a mass of 
poor stuff. 

Peaches. — Peaches are sun-dried in much the same way as apri- 
cots, already described. Hand-pick the fruit when it is fully ripe, 
but not mushy ; cut cleanly all around to extract the pit and put on 
trays cup side up ; get into the sulphur box as soon as possible after 
cutting — before the cut surface becomes dry, and sulphur until juice 
gathers in the pit-cavity. It is often from four to five hours in a 
well-built sulphur house. Growers in Fresno County find two quarts 
of sulphur about right for a house having a capacity of 54 2x3-foot 
trays. This will vary with the amount of leakage from the house, 
the condition of the fruit in regard to ripeness and size, and the 
temperature and humidity of the air. Figure on leaving them in 
the sulphur fumes 3 or 4 hours. Increase this if, at the end of that 
time, the pit cavities are not filled with syrup. Reduce it if they 
are filled with syrup in much less time. The length of time to 
leave the fruit in the sun depends on temperature, humidity, ripeness 
and size of fruit. Exposing it to direct rays of the sun for too long a 
time during periods of high temperature is sure to leave the fruit 
tough, leathery and flavorless. Best results are secured when the 
fruit is exposed to the sun just long enough to get the drying well 
under way and then stacked to finish curing in the shade. Trays 
should be stacked end-wise toward the prevailing wind and set 
alternately several inches one way or the other to leave an opening 
at each end for circulation of air. They are sufficiently cured when 
you find it impossible to slip the skins by squeezing the peaches be- 
tween the fingers. Peaches are dried both peeled and unpeeled, but 
drying without peeling is chiefly done. Peeling is sometimes done 
with the small paring machines or with a knife. Peeling with lye 
has been largely abandoned because of discoloration of the fruit 
after packing, although it can be successfully done by frequently 
changing the lye and using ample quantities of fresh water for rins- 
iftg after dipping. The process of spraying lye on the fruit is clut- 
tered up by patents which are still in litigation. Some growers peel 
by slipping oflf the skin as the fruit comes from the sulphur-box — 
placing the half-fruits one by one on another tray, without spilling 
the juice in the cup. 



DRYING PEACHES AND PRUNES 453 

The California Peach Growers' Association owns the patents on 
a process for what they call "practically peeled" dried peaches, 
which they are largely using in their packing houses. The peaches 
are peeled after drying. They are placed upon a traveling conveyor 
which runs them first through a tank of boiling water in which 
soda is dissolved, which loosens the skins and incidentally removes 
any dirt on them. Then they go through cold water, which removes 
the soda, and into the peeler in which rotating brushes force the 
peaches along wire cylinders. This process scrapes ofif the skin. 
Varieties differ in behavior. Muirs peel best. Lovell skins stick 
much tighter, but a great deal of it is removed and under all circum- 
stances the fuzz is all taken off, which is a great thing. After peeling 
the fruit is dried, resulphured and packed. 

Clingstone peaches are successfully handled with curved knives 
and spoon-shaped pitters in conjunction with ordinary fruit knives. 
Different styles are carried at the general stores in the fruit dis- 
tricts, and individuals differ widely in their preferences. 

The weight of dried peaches which can be obtained from a certain 
weight of fresh fruit, depends upon the variety ; some varieties yield 
at least a third more than others, and clings yield more than free- 
stones as a rule. Dry-fleshed peaches, like the Muir, yield one pound 
dry from four or five pounds fresh, while other more juicy fruits 
may require six or seven pounds. 

Nectarines. — Nectarines are handled like peaches ; the produc- 
tion of translucent amber fruit in the sun depends upon the skillful 
use of sulphur. Dried nectarines are much like dried apricots, as 
the skin is naturally smooth. 

Plums and Prunes. — Our pitted plums, which are an acid fruit, 
are meeting with more favor than formerly, and the product though 
small is increasing. Pitting is done by hand or by the use of foot- 
power "pitters." More rapid and capacious machines are being 
brought out by inventors. 

Prunes are our greatest cure tree-fruit. Several varieties of 
plums which dry sweet with the pit in are used in making prunes, 
as already stated in Chapter XXIII, but the prevailing variety is 
the Prune d'Agen, or French prune. 

Prunes are gathered from the ground, which has been previously 
smoothed by roUing or rubbing. .About three gatherings are made 
as they ripen and fall progressively — shaking the trees only at the 
last gathering. 

Prunes are usually graded before drying, and various home- 
made contrivances are employed. Some use inclined planes of 
adjustable slats, the grader being thus available for other fruits than 
prunes ; the large fruit rolls along into receptacles at the bottom, 
while the small fruit falls through into other receptacles. Some 
have a long riddle, say twelve feet long, with three different sizes of 
wire screen on it. This riddle is hung upon four ropes with an 
incline ; the prunes are thrown in the higher end, and by shaking it 
they roll down and fall through the holes into boxes underneath. 
The first piece of screen should be small, to let only stems and dirt 



464 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

through, and no prunes. This long hanging screen is also used to 
grade prunes after drying. There are several excellent manufactured 
fruit graders on sale in this State which have largely displaced 
home-made contrivances. 

The next step in the process is dipping in lye to thin and crack 
the skin, which facilitates the escape of moisture in the drying 
process. In the large caldron lye is made with one pound of con- 
centrated lye to each thirty gallons of water, and kept boiling hot. 
The fruit is put into wire baskets or galvanized pails with perforated 
sides and bottoms, and dipped in the boiling lye for a few seconds, 
or until the skin has a wrinkled appearance. After this dipping, 
the prunes are placed on trays. 

A process of puncturing the skin of the prunes by causing them 
to roll over needle points is also employed. There are now manu- 
factured very capacious appliances for continuous dipping, punctur- 
ing and spreading on the trays so that the fruit is handled in large 
quantities at a minimum cost. In no branch of our fruit industry, 
perhaps, has there been greater advance in labor-saving devices than 
in prune handling. 

The following explicit hints on the curing of prunes are based 
upon wide experience and observation in the Santa Clara Valley : 

Be sure to allow the prunes to obtain all of the sugar they can from the 
trees by hanging until they drop of their own accord. Do not pick up until 
prunes are soft to the touch. 

Do not keep prunes in boxes over night. They go through a sweat, and 
do not make a first quality of dried fruit, and take much longer to dry. It 
is better to let the prunes lie on the ground under the tree for several days 
than to let the picked prunes lie in the boxes over one night. 

The dipping fluid must be kept at the boiling point and no prunes put 
in unless it is boiling. It is not a matter of how strong the lye is, but 
how hot is the water. On the trays prunes will either dry or ferment. 
Unless the dip is hot enough the prune will not immediately commence to 
dry, but will, in a few days, become a chocolate color and refuse to dry, 
sometimes a few on a tray, often half and sometimes nearly all. If the 
water is at the boiling point all through the dip, two pounds of lye to the 
100 gallons of water may be sufficient. If the water is not boiling, ten 
pounds of lye to the 100 gallons of water may be required. 

Weather conditions govern the time prunes should remain on the trays. 
Grasp a handful of prunes and give them a gentle squeeze and open the 
hand quickly; if the prunes separate they are ready to stack the trays and 
the fruit should be placed in the bin before it rattles on the trays. 

When the prunes are sufficiently dry put them where it will not rain 
on them, but do not prevent the air from getting to them. Let the wind 
have free access until the rains set in, then close the doors and make the 
house as snug as you can. In making bins, be sure the boards are dry 
and the bins well above ground, or you will have trouble. 

For dipping before packing, some use a brine dip — about five pounds of 
salt to 100 gallons of water. The salt dip leaves the skin of the fruit in a 
bright, clear condition and brings out the blue bloom, which is desirable. 
Practically all packers now dip in pure hot water at 210 degrees for 2 to 4 
minutes to partially dissolve juice enough to seal the pores of the skin. 
Many used to add licorice, glucose, glycerine or prune juice to make the 
prune shiny, but there is no need for this, because the public does not de- 
mand a shiny prune. When properly dipped in hot water and packed at 
once wihile hot and soft, a bloom comes back on them as they cool and 
harden. 



HOW CALIFORNIA RAISINS ARE MADE 455 

The dipping serves three purposes: It washes dust from the prunes, kills 
whatever insects may be in them, though it may not kill moth eggs, and 
softens the prunes so they may be attractively packed. More prunes are 
spoiled by processing in water not hot enough, than in any other way. 

Raisins. — The varieties of grapes used for raisins are described 
in Chapter XXVIII. The production of raisins has reached such an 
extent, and employs so much skill and capital, that the processes 
employed to facilitate the curing and packing are so various that a 
description of them can not be attempted. Commercial handling has 
been so elaborated and systematized during recent years that careful 
observation of actual operations in vineyard and packing house is 
necessary to full understanding. A few hints will, however, be 
sufficient to help anyone to begin raisin-making. The following are 
by Professor Bioletti of the University of California : 

To make good Muscat raisins, very sweet, large grapes and two or three 
weeks of hot, dry weather are necessary. These conditions occur in the 
interior. Nearer the coast the weather is usually cool and rain probable 
by the time the grapes are sufficiently ripe. 

The riper the grapes the better the quality of raisins and the heavier the 
yield. They should have at least 25 per cent of sugar. The drying ratio 
varies with ripeness from 5:1 to 3:1. At 25 per cent Bal. 3.4 lbs. of fresh 
grapes yield 1 lb. of raisins. The time of drying varies from nine days to 
thirty, according to the weather. The most favorable maximum daily tem- 
perature for quality lies between 80 deg. and 90 deg. F. At much above 
100 deg. the drying is quicker but the quality inferior. Showers and cool 
weather may prolong the drying even beyond thirty days. 

The grapes are gathered directly on to 2x3 ft. trays and dried between 
the rows of vines. The vineyard is first prepared by making a low soil 
ridge slanting to the south and near the south side of every alternate row. 
If the growth of vines is very heavy it may be necessary to cut away the 
ends of the spreading canes. 

Each tray receives 22 lbs. of grapes, evenly spread and free from trash 
and leaves. When about three-fourths dry, the grapes are turned. This is 
in about nine days at an average maximum daily temperature of 90 deg. F. 
Two men do the turning by placing an empty tray on top of the full one 
and revolving both from north to south, so as to change the position of 
the grapes as well as turn them. After about three or four days at this 
temperature, the raisin trays should be "stacked" in piles of ten or more; 
each pile being covered with an empty tray. It is advisable to do as much 
of the drying in the stack as is possible without running the risk of 
molding. 

In case of threatened rain, the trays are also stacked and then spread 
out again when the danger has passed. A little rain will not hurt the rais- 
ins before they are turned. Much rain, or wetting after turning, will injure 
their appearance as layer raisins, but they can usually be saved by prompt 
turning on to new dry trays. In case of prolonged wet weather, it may be 
necessary to sulphur the stacked raisins. This is done by covering the 
stacks with a sheet or a balloon sulphur box and burning a few ounces of 
sulphur. When dry, the raisins are packed tight into sweat-boxes 2x3 ft.x8 
in. deep, holding about twenty-five trays. For home use, bins or boxes of 
any size may be used. Dessert raisins are packed in layers separated by 
sheets of Manila paper. 

The foregoing relates to the preparation of the standard clusters, 
but the method can be used for drying other grapes, though it is 
preferable to "dip" in some cases. 

Loose Muscatels are prepared by being put through the stemmer 
and grader. The stemmer removes the berries from the stems, and 



4^ CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

the grader, by separating according to size, determines the grade. 
During the last few years the seeding of raisins has increased 
rapidly, and large establishments for this work,with every ingenious 
machinery, have been erected. Seeded raisins constitute a consider- 
able portion of the product. 

Considerable quantities of dipped raisins are also made of loose 
or inferior Muscatels. A lye dip of about one pound of caustic soda 
or Wyandotte alkali to twelve gallons of water is used, and the 
solution is kept boiling hot. The ripe fruit is dipped for an instant, 
then plunged in fresh water for a thorough rinsing, and then placed 
on the trays, and put in tight sulphur-houses for three hours. They 
are then spread in the sun for one day and curing finished in the 
stack if the weather is dry and hot; but if cooler, moister weather 
prevails, the trays must be spread out. The product is a handsome 
amber color. 

Dipped Seedless Raisins. — After much experimentation by Cali- 
fornia growers to improve the process of making dipped raisins, the 
following method largely used by Mr. G. H. Hecke of Woodland, 
Yolo County, in handling Thompson and Sultana raisins has been 
widely adopted : 

Dissolve 30 pounds of bicarbonate of soda in 30 gallons of water, by 
thorough boiling; add 60 gallons of water to this solution and enough good 
olive oil to film the surface of the dip — about a teacupful will generally be 
right. If this dip does not sufficiently cut the bloom on the grape, add a 
pound or two of ordinary lye to the dip until it is strong enough to remove 
it. Keep this dipping solution at about 90 degrees F. and add a tablespoon- 
ful of the olive oil from time to time to replace the oil removed by dipping. 

These directions, of course, are general, and will serve only as a basis 
for operations. Sugar content of grapes, cloudy days during the drying 
process, different brands of olive oil, all are factors in the successful adop- 
tion of this method, and hence, individual judgment is necessary to obtain 
the best results. The raisins produced under this process should be of light 
amber color and will dry in less than half the time needed for the undipped 
grapes. 

GRAPE SYRUP 

The manufacture of grape syrup, as a means of disposing of 
wine grapes, has recently received much attention and detailed 
descriptive publications can be had from the University Experiment 
Station at Berkeley. 

MACHINE EVAPORATION 

Although California summer conditions of adequate heat and 
dry air favor open-air evaporation to such an extent that nearly all 
our product of cured fruit is secured in that way, there are some 
parts of the State where artificial heat would be a safer recourse and 
there are occasionally years in which drying fruits collide with 
early rains in a way to cause losses even in our best sun-curing 
regions. 

In 1919, owing to great losses of prunes by the heavy September 
rains of 1918 in the coast valleys (which have never been equaled 



DEHYDRATION IN CALIFORNIA 



467 



since the beginning of American occupation) and owing to the 
anticipated need of drying grapes because of prohibition of wine 
making, there arose a great interest in machine evaporation in Cali- 
fornia. This has been ministered to by inventors and by investiga- 
tion of available appliances by the University Experiment Station, 
of which publications are available — describing the types of evapor- 
ators and their operation. The subject promises to develop into 
freer employment of artificial heat than has ruled hitherto in Cali- 
fornia fruit curing, because the new types of evaporators have more 
adequate capacity than those which were abandoned forty years 
before and because oil has become available as a source of heat. 
There is, however, no likelihood that the sun in the heavens will 
ever be displaced as the chief agency in California fruit preservation. 



PART NINE: FRUIT PROTECTION 



CHAPTER XLII. 



CALIFORNIA METHODS WITH INJURIOUS INSECTS 

The California climate, which so favors tree and vine by a long, 
mild, growing season, also enables some insects to multiply much 
more rapidly than they do in wintry climes ; some having several 
distinct broods, others carrying on the work of reproduction and 
destruction of plants nearly the year round. 

Undoubtedly parasitic and predacious insects preying upon the 
injurious species found in the fruit plantations are of assistance, in 
greater or lesser measure, in reducing the pests, and this service is 
being promoted by the introduction of beneficial insects from other 
parts of the world. There are many of our native species of insects 
that are valuable in this regard. Other factors, also, such as 
untoward weather-conditions at the time of hatching, bacterial and 
fungous diseases of insects, etc., assist the horticulturist in his war- 
fare against injurious insects, and yet it must be the undertaking of 
every fruit grower to know as many pests as he can and the best 
way to fight them. 

While the literature upon the subject of insect pests in California 
is quite extensive, much of it must be sought in libraries. Neverthe- 
less there are a number of publications which should be secured by 
every fruit grower. These are the bulletins and reports of the 
Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of California, at 
Berkeley*; of the State Department of Agriculture, at Sacramento; 
and of the bureau of Entomology of the United States Department 
of Agriculture, at Washington. Furthermore as the study of the 
pests and the invention of means for their destruction are contin- 
ually progressing one can only keep himself up to date and enable 
himself to profit by improvements, by diligent reading of Califor- 
nia's periodicals devoted to practical horticulture. 

CLASSES OF INSECTS 

In order to arrange injurious insects in classes in a popular way, 
the grouping here will be based upon the character of the work they 
do. This arrangement has been followed by other writers and 
is perhaps better than attempting to group the insects which prey 
upon any single tree or plant, because injurious insects seldom 
restrict themselves to a single food plant. Therefore the grouping 
will be as follows': 



•Circular 227 "Plant Disease and Pest Control" by W. T. Home and E. O. Essig, 
California Experiment Station, Berkeley, June, 1921, is the latest and best treatise on 
plant protection. 



HOW INSECTS INJURE FRUITS 459 

(1) Insects destroying foliage; 

(2) Insects upon the bark or upon the surface of leaf and fruit; 

(3) Insects boring into the twig, stem or root ; 

(4) Insects boring into the pulp of fruits. 

INSECTS DESTROYING FOLIAGE 

Cut Worms and Army Worms. — These are the larvae of Noctuid 
moths, which often become abundant over limited areas and do 
much damage to trees and plants. Cut worms and Army worms are 
terms applied to the same insects in California. In ordinary years 
they are not present in sufficient numbers to cause much concern, 
and in such years they are known simply as cut worms. When all 
conditions are favorable, however, certain species develop in 
enormous numbers and having exhausted the food supply where 
they breed, they begin to migrate or march, commonly in a definite 
direction, as an army in search of new food. When they thus appear 
in such large numbers and take on the migrating habit they are 
called army worms. 

Some of the caterpillars have the habit of climbing up vines and 
trees and eating off the buds in the early spring. These are called 
climbing cut worms. Others remain at or near the surface of the 
ground and feed by cutting off the plants at this point. They are 
more commonly found in the grass lands, but very frequently attack 
cultivated crops, particularly on land that was in grass the previous 
year. 

Of the methods used to protect trees and plants from cut worms, 
poisoned bait is probably the most common. This consists of bran 
and molasses or other sweet substance poisoned with arsenic and 
distributed in handfuls about the plants. The proportions are as 
follows : forty pounds of bran, two gallons of cheap molasses, and 
five pounds of arsenic. Cheap glycerine may be used to prevent the 
mixture from drying . This will be eaten by the worms in preference, 
usually, to the plants which it is desired to protect. It may be placed 
in spoonfuls at the base of trees or vines which it is desired to pro- 
tect or in case of an invasion may be broadcasted over the ground — 
which reduces the danger of poisoning poultry and domestic 
animals. 

Cut worms and army worms may also be captured by means of 
traps. Because of their habit of feeding at night and remaining con- 
cealed during the day, pieces of boards may be placed on the ground 
around the growth to be protected and these may be turned over 
during the day and the worms killed. 

In case of outbreaks of army worms the most important and 
successful means of fighting them is to keep them out of the orchard 
or vineyard entirely. This can be successfully done if they are dis- 
covered in time, or if already in one portion, they can be kept from 
spreading over the rest of the property. They travel in immense 
numbers in a definite direction, coming generally from an adjoining 
or nearby grain field. If a furrow is plowed along the side of the 
place to be protected it will effectively stop their progress. This 



470 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

furrow should be plowed as deep as possible, with the vertical side 
next to the field to be protected. It can be further trimmed with a 
spade, preferably cutting under slightly, making a smooth surface, 
over which few, if any, of the worms will make their way. Above 
this shoulder a fine pulverized earth should slope as abruptly upward 
as possible. If any of the worms succeed in climbing up over the 
smooth surface made by the spade they will be pretty sure to fall 
back as they reach this fine loose earth in an attempt to ascend over 
the projecting shoulder. Postholes should be dug on the straight 
edge of the furrow every fifteen or twenty feet. The worms in fail- 
ing to scale the vertical side of the furrow will crawl along in the 
bottom and fall into these holes. Here they may be killed by pour- 
ing in a little crude oil, or by pouring in a little distillate and drop- 
ping in a match, thus burning them, or the holes filled in and others 
dug. They may also be killed in the furrow by sprinkling them with 
kerosene or by pouring a strip of crude oil along the furrow. 

Canker Worms. — These are destructive leaf-feeding caterpillars, 
commonly known also as inchworms, loopers or measuring worms, 
because of the peculiar looping gait by which they move about. The 
male moths are slender bodied and have broad, thin wings, while the 
females are wingless, heavy-bodied creatures. 

While these caterpillars can in large measure be controlled by 
spraying with lead arsenate, it is by far the best to use the trap 
method of control and avoid having them upon the trees at all. 
The trap method depends for its success upon the fact that the 
wingless female moth upon emerging from her cocoon in the ground 
immediately crawls up the trunk of the nearby tree and places her 
eggs upon the twigs. By trapping the females on their way up into 
the trees no eggs can be placed near the foliage and the caterpillars 
hatching from them can do no damage. The traps are made thus : 
Take No. 16 or No. 14 wire cloth in strips six inches wide, draw and 
tack the top edge close to the trunk of the tree over a bandage of 
cloth which is put on first to make the joint tight. The lower edge 
should flare out about an inch from the tree all around. This trap 
will need rather frequent cleaning while the moths are active. They 
may also be prevented from climbing by bands of "tree tanglefoot" 
or loose cotton. 

Tent Caterpillars. — Several species of hairy caterpillars called 
"tent caterpillars," or "web worms," from their spinning covers of 
cobweb-like material, under which they take shelter in large col- 
onies ; but one, at least, of the group does not spin a web, though it 
lives in clusters on the tree. The worms can be killed by cutting off 
and burning the twig holding the cluster or by burning the colonies 
in place with a torch on the end of a pole, or by spraying the foliage 
with lead arsenate. The pest can be reduced while pruning by care- 
fully collecting and burning the egg clusters, which encircle the 
twig. 

Red-Humped Caterpillar. — Striped caterpillars, not hairy, but 
having two rows of black spines along the back, also living in clus- 



LEAF-EATING INSECTS 



471 



ters ; of reddish color with yellow and white lines ; a short distance 
back of the red head of the caterpillar is a red hump on which are 
four black spines ; black spines are also scattered over the body, but 
smaller than those on the back. Spray with lead arsenate or Paris 
green, or cut off and burn colonies. 

Caterpillar of Tussock Moth. — A conspicuous caterpillar with 
four short, brush-like tufts on its back, and two long, black plumes 
at the front, and one at the rear of the body. This leaf-eater is found 
on apple, pear, plum and sometimes on other fruit trees, also on the 
walnut and oak. The caterpillars are peculiarly resistant to arsenical 
sprays and can not be successfully controlled by these. The larva 
spins a cocoon sometimes in the fold of a leaf, more commonly in 
crotches or rough places on the bark, or even on adjacent buildings 
or fences, and the female, after emerging from the cocoon, deposits 
her eggs upon the outside of it. The insect is fortunately very freely 
parasitized in the egg form and prevented from wide injury. It can 
be controlled by destroying the egg masses during pruning, as they 
are white and very conspicuous. The worms may be jarred from the 
trees and prevented from climbing up again as described for canker 
worms. 

Pear and Cherry Slug. — A small, slimy, dark-colored worm, with 
the fore part of the body notably larger than the rear part, eating 
the upper surface of the leaves but not usually making holes through 
them. The insect can be checked by throwing fine road dust or air- 
slacked lime over the tree, which cakes upon the slime of the worm 
and destroys it. On a large scale an arsenate of lead spray may be 
used or dust spraying with hydrated lime or nicodust is effective. 

Saw-Fly Worm. — There are several larvae of saw-flies which 
do much injury to pear trees, currants, etc., by eating the whole leaf 
substance except the larger ribs. The worms are small, not slimy 
like the pear slug, the one infesting the pear being about half an 
inch when fully grown. Its general appearance and work are shown 
by the engravings. The most available remedy is an arsenate of 
lead spray just as the petals are opening. 

Large Caterpillars on Grape-vines. — The grape-vine is often 
seriously injured by the attacks of very large leaf-eating worms two 
inches and upwards in length, sometimes with a large horn, or spine, 
sometimes without. They are larvae of several species of Sphinx 
moths or hawk-moths. The worms when new hatched can be killed 
by an arsenical spray or by hand-picking. The number of worms 
can be reduced by killing the large moths which are abundant at 
nightfall on beds of verbenas, or other garden flowers. These worms 
are related to the other large caterpillars which feed on tobacco, 
tomatoes, etc. They can be killed by spraying or dusting with 
lead arsenate and nicotine. 

Leaf Eating Beetles. — There are many beetles, large and small, 
which infest grape leaves. They can all be reduced by the use of 
arsenate of lead, or those which drop to the ground when disturbed 
may be collected in large numbers on sheets spread below. 



472 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

The most notable of these because of its evil work in the central 
part of the State, and because the grub destroys the roots of the vine 
causing it to be called the "grape root worm," and the beetle riddles 
the leaves and young fruit. It is Adoxus vitis and a special study of 
it has been made by Professor H. J. Quayle, of the University Ex- 
periment Station, the results of which are published in Bulletin 195 
of the station. The beetle is about one-fifth of an inch in length and 
is black or brown. It can be killed by spraying or dusting the fol- 
iage with lead arsenate. 

INSECTS UPON BARK OR SURFACE OF LEAVES 
OF FRUIT 

Leaf Lice. — Leaves of fruit trees, especially the apple and plum, 
are sometimes almost covered with lice or aphides of dififerent colors, 
from light green to black, some individuals having wings and some 
wingless. Available remedies for all these leaf lice are the kerosene 
emulsions and other mixtures which will be given later as summer 
washes for scale insects, with a spray nozzle which sends spray 
upwards, so as to reach the under sides of the leaves. Very often 
these pests are apparently cleared out by lady-birds and other insects 
which devour them. 

Thrips.— Very minute insects infesting buds, leaves and blos- 
soms of pears, prunes, cherries, peaches and many other trees and 
plants. The attack on leaves and buds causes them to wither and fall 
off. Indeed complete defoliation may follow their attack. When 
thrips infest fruit blossoms the essential parts are eaten off by the 
insects and the attacked blossom sets no fruit. Much damage is done 
by the insect and thorough investigation has been pursued by several 
investigators of the Bureau of Entomology of the U. S. Department 
of Agriculture, and by the California Experiment Station. Early 
results indicate that the insect is capable of control by spring spraying 
with several insecticides, preparation and application of which is 
given in detail in California Experiment Station Circular 223 (No- 
vember, 1920), and should be carefully studied. 

The first application should properly be made when the thrips are 
coming from the ground in maximum numbers and before the cluster 
buds are too far advanced. This period in the San Jose district is 
early in March, but it of course differs for the several varieties of 
fruits. An effort should be made to kill all adults in an orchard be- 
fore March 15, when practically all thrips are out of the ground and 
when egg-laying on the stems of leaves or bloom begins. 

Spraying can be done with safety to opening buds, but should not 
be sprayed on trees in full bloom, and its use can be resumed imme- 
diately after the blossoms have fallen, and later on the foliage for 
adults and larvae. 

The necessity for spraying will depend upon the number in a 
blossom. As the blossoms are barely opening the thrips should be 
shaken out of a few blossoms on white paper. If only two or three 



INSECTS DESTROYING FOLIAGE 473 

are in a blossom, it is probable that spraying may be omitted. If 
they are more numerous, it is quite certain that spraying will be 
required. 

Vine Hoppers. — Very minute, yellowish, jumping insects infest- 
ing grape-vines very early in the season, and multiplying rapidly. The 
vine hopper (often called incorrectly the vine thrips) is the most 
widely distributed and most uniformly present of all the grape insects 
occurring in the State. It occurs in injurious numbers, however, 
chiefly in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. It is also present 
in the coast counties, but rarely in sufficient numbers to do much in- 
jury. Another large species (Tettigonia atropunctata) occurs in these 
localities and sometimes does considerable injury in the early part 
of the season. The principal injury caused by this insect is due to 
the extraction of the plant juices. These are sucked out by means 
of a sharp beak or proboscis, which is inserted into the plant tissues. 

Control of the insect consists in keeping the vineyard clean of 
weeds, which are the winter refuge of the pest — thus reducing the 
number ready for egg-laying on the vine-foliage. The next oppor- 
tunity for effective work lies in killing the young insects, as they 
appear from eggs placed in the leaf-tissue by the over-wintering 
adults, before they get their wings. These young hoppers may be 
killed by means of a spray applied to the under side of the leaves, 
and this will be during May or the first part of June, depending 
upon the season and locality. The exact time may be determined by 
watching their development. When some of them have reached al- 
most full size it is time to start the spraying. The spray to use is 
soap-nicotine or nicodust, applied from below so as to strike the 
under side of the leaves, for the spray will kill only such hoppers 
as are hit. 

Falsie Chinch-Bugs. — Small, grayish-brown insects (about one- 
eighth of an inch long when fully grown), which injure the vine 
leaves. They drop to the ground when the vine is disturbed, and may 
be caught or may be sprayed as for vine hoppers. 

Grasshoppers. — These pests often invade orchard and vineyard, 
and sometimes kill the plants outright by completely defoliating them. 
This plague has been successfully met by the use of the arsenic and 
bran remedy, prepared as already described for cut-worms. A table- 
spoonful is thrown by the side of each vine or tree. If placed on 
shingles about the vineyard, much of the poison not eaten may be 
afterward gathered up and saved.* 

Red Spider and Other Mites. — Very minute insects, usually dis- 
cernible only with the aid of a magnifier, sometimes destroy the 
leaves, causing them to lose their color and health by their inroads 
upon the leaf surface. The red spider and yellow mite are conspicu- 

*For the protection of nurseries, orchards, and vineyards it is often necessary to 
resort to various devices for excluding the grasshopper, or for destroying them upon 
adjoining fields. Publications describing such devices are Bulletins 142, 170 and 192, 
University Experiment Station, Berkeley. 



474 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

ous examples ; they infest nearly all orchard trees, especially the al- 
mond, prune, and plum. The eggs of the red spider are ruby-red 
globules, as seen with the magnifier, and are deposited in vast num- 
bers upon the bark of the tree, and leave a red color upon the finger 
if it is rubbed over them. The eggs may be killed with winter 
strength of lime sulphur, but treatment is most effective when ap- 
plied in the spring and summer after the mites are hatched out. The 
popular remedy is a thorough dusting with sulphur. On a large scale 
the sulphur is applied in a cloud by means of a modification of the 
broad-cast barley sower or with the sulphur machines specially made 
for this purpose. On a small scale it may be applied with a bellows 
as for grape-vines, or shaken from a cheese-cloth bag at the end of a 
pole. Sulphur sprays have been found most effective in controlling 
the red spider. The ingredients of the sulphur sprays will be given 
later. 

Phylloxera. — This pest of the grape-vine is closely allied to the 
aphides, and lives both upon the root and leaf, though in this State 
the root type prevails and the leaf form is seldom seen. No remedy 
has yet been found effectual, but escape is had by using roots resisting 
the insects, as described in Chapter XXVI. The insects are recog- 
nized, by the aid of a magnifier, as minute yellow lice, chiefly on the 
rootlets. Full account of the insect is given in Bulletin 192, Univer- 
sity of California Experiment Station. 

The Woolly Aphis. — A louse of dark red color, occurring in 
groups, covered with a woolly substance which exudes from the 
bodies of the insects. The woolly aphis is an almost universal pest of 
the apple, though as shown by experience, some varieties are prac- 
tically exempt from it. As the pest lives both upon root and top, its 
annihilation is impossible, but it may be reduced so that the fruitful- 
ness and vigor of the tree are not impaired. 

The woolly aphis on the roots may be prevented from collecting 
in too large quantities on the root crown by the use of about five 
gallons of fresh wood ashes, placed about the base of the tree at the 
beginning of the rainy season, or by using about three pounds of 
tobacco refuse in the same way. The rain leaches the lye from the 
ashes or the juice from the tobacco, both of which are destructive to 
the aphis. The soil around the tree may also be soaked with soap 
and nicotine spray. By keeping the insect thus reduced at the root 
crown, its presence on the tree itself will be reduced to a minimum. 
More than this cannot be expected, because it is impossible to ex- 
tirpate the insect, and it is present in nearly all the apple orchards and 
old fruit gardens in the State. 

Woolly aphis on the branches and twigs can be reduced by spray- 
ing with oil emulsion washes. Lady-birds often clear away the woolly 
aphis, after reproduction has fallen below the normal, from the tree 
above ground. Some attention is being given to trial of resistant roots 
and it is likely that such roots will be generally used here as in 
Australia. How such trees are grown is described on page 201. 



ALL KINDS OF SCALE INSECTS 475 

Scale Insects. — This is a large group of pests which occasion 
greater loss and trouble to our fruit growers than all other pests 
combined. There are many species, and no orchard tree is exempt 
from the attacks of one or more of them, though some trees are ap- 
parently more popular with the pests than others. The fruit grower 
should study their life history and classification as laid down in the 
works on entomology. It will only be possible in this connection to 
call the roll of the common scales and to give some of the remedies 
which are now being most successfully employed against them. 

San Jose Scale (Aspidiotus perniciosus). — This was formerly one 
of the worst and most widespread of the species of scales preying 
on deciduous fruit trees in California, but at present, owing to the 
energetic war that fruit growers have had to wage against it, has 
become of minor importance, and, in fact, has practically disappeared 
from some regions where it was formerly most injurious. The work 
of this species is generally readily distinguished from other species 
of scale by the red blotches which are formed wherever it stings any 
part of the tree — either branch, leaf or fruit. These red blotches are 
more pronounced in some varieties than in others. When the scales 
are present in large numbers, it causes a complete discoloration of the 
bark clear to the sap-wood. This scale has its preference among the 
deciduous fruits. The apricot and certain varieties of cherries and 
plums are but little affected. 

The Greedy Scale (Aspidiotus rapax). — This species affects 
many kinds of trees, deciduous as well as evergreens. Scale, about 
one-sixteenth of an inch in length ; form, ovoid ; color, drab ; female, 
bright yellow. This insect is found in many places along the coast. It 
is distinguishable easily from the Aspidiotus perniciosus by its whit- 
ish yellow color, contrasting with the dark color of the latter. Gen- 
erally this scale has only one brood in the season, and, as compared 
with the San Jose scale, it is of little danger, owing to its slow-breed- 
ing propensities. 

Oyster Shell Scale of Apple (Lepidosaphes ulmi). — This scale 
affects the apple chiefly, although sometimes the pear also. Owing to 
the thickness of the armor, it is one of the most dif^cult of the scales 
to exterminate. It is easily recognized by its long curved form. 

Rose and Berry Scale (Aulacaspis rosae). — This scale has such 
striking forms that it can be readily recognized. The round white 
scale is that of the female, the elongated one with ridges is the male. 
The rose scale infests, besides roses, various fruit bushes, especially 
blackberries and raspberries. Remedy : For raspberries and black- 
berries the cutting down of the canes to the ground should be adopted, 
and the stumps sprayed or washed with kerosene emulsion^ recom- 
mended under the head of general remedies for scale insects. 

Oleander Scale (Aspidiotus hederac). — This scale is small, flat, 
yellowish-white. It affects a great many trees, especially evergreens. 
Lemon trees become badly affected, and the fruit is sometimes com- 



476 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

pletely covered. The olive is also subject, and the fruit of the olive 
when infested does not mature well, and wherever a scale is found, a 
green blotch makes its appearance. 

Red Scale of Orange and Lemon. — (Chrysomphales aurantii). — 
This scale affects citrus trees in both the coast and interior regions. 
The scale fully grown is one-twelfth of an inch or a little more in 
diameter, center yellow, margin light brown. The appearance of 
trees infested with this pest is very striking, very much resembling 
those diseased from other causes, such as bad drainage, the leaf pre- 
senting a mottled appearance, a light blotch around the scale contrast- 
ing with the natural green of the leaf. The branches are but little 
troubled, but the fruit, like the leaf, becomes completely covered with 
the insects. An orange tree infested with this scale gradually becomes 
sickly and languishes. 

Other Citrus Tree Scales. — Two scales more recently brought 
into this State from Florida are the "purple scale," Lepidosaphes 
beskii, and the "long scale," Lepidosaphes gloverii. The red and pur- 
ple scales of citrus trees are only treated successfully by fumigation 
with hydrocyanic acid gas. This treatment is an elaborate one, requir- 
ing special appliances which are fully illustrated and described in 
publications by the Agricultural Experiment Station at Berkeley. 

The Black Scale (Saissetia oleae). — This scale is almost a uni- 
versal pest, especially in regions adjacent to the coast, though it has 
recently demonstrated its ability to endure interior valley conditions. 
It affects citrus fruit trees and some deciduous trees as well, and a 
fungus growing on its exudation causes the black smut, which renders 
tree and fruit unsightly ; but this smut accompanies other scale insects 
as well as this one. It is especially troublesome on the olive, and will 
quickly spread to ornamental plants and vines in the garden. It is a 
very difficult scale to subdue. On citrus trees the fumigation method 
is the only practical recourse. On deciduous fruits it requires both 
winter and summer spraying to hold it in check. In spite of the fact 
that immense numbers are killed by parasites, and perhaps by fungi as 
well, it is still a grevious pest, and should be fought unceasingly. 

Soft Orange Scale (Coccus Hesperidum). — This scale is a pest 
of citrus trees the world over. The scale is ovoid, a little wider at 
one end than the other; length, from one-twelfth to one-seventh of an 
inch; color, dark brown on convex part, and a lighter brown sur- 
rounding margin ; it has two indentations on each side, and one on 
posterior end. This scale prefers to collect on the under sides of the 
leaves along the midrib, the upper sides being covered with smut. It 
fortunately is usually held in check by natural agencies. 

Brown Apricot Scale. — The apricot tree, though defying the 
most ruinous scales of some other trees, is beset by certain scales. 
The black scale is one and the brown apricot scale another. The 
brown apricot scale (Eulecanium Armeniacum) is boat-shaped; when 
reaching maturity, wrinkled; the color is a shiny brown, darker in 



MANY KINDS OF BORERS 477 

the center, lighter at the edges. A full-sized scale has a length of a 
quarter of an inch, and a width of one-eighth of an inch. This scale 
attacks nearly all kinds of deciduous fruits, but especially the prune 
and apricot. It is a very hardy scale, and the remarks about the black 
scale apply to it also. 

Other Lecaniums. — There are several other scales on fruit trees ; 
The filbert scale (hemisphericum), which is common in greenhouses 
and occurs to limited extent on citrus trees; the frosted scale (pruino- 
sum), very large oval and convex, covered with dense, whitish bloom, 
occurs on deciduous fruit trees. 

Cottony Cushion Scale or Fluted Scale (leery a purchasi). — This 
promised at one time to be the most grievous of all scales in its rapid 
increase and wide range of food plants, but it was speedily reduced 
by an Australian ladybird, Novius (Vedalia) cardinalis, introduced 
by Albert Koebele, with such success that specimens were for a 
number of years rarely seen, but have recently become abundant in 
some localities. 

Mealy Bugs. — Closely allied to the scales are the mealy bugs 
(species of dactylopius), soft and of a pale pink color, generally cov- 
ered with a whitish mealy powder, hence the name. The common 
species is found in nearly every greenhouse in the world, and in 
California climate lives in the open air on many kinds of plants, and 
has at various times proved quite troublesome. Unless checked by 
natural enemies, the mealy bugs multiply very rapidly, and mass 
themselves in the corners of the leaves. The plants turn black from 
the fungus growth growing on the honeydew, and the bush pre- 
sents the same appearance as a scale-infested plant. With the aid 
of a magnifier the appearance of the mealy bugs, as different from 
scales can be readily recognized. Recently they have become very 
injurious on grape-vines and various fruit trees. 

Remedies for Scale Insects. — Though most of the scale insects 
are attacked by parasitic and predaceous insects, as already stated, 
these natural agencies have generally not proved rapid enough to 
cope with the increase of the scales, and insecticides have to be em- 
ployed to save the fruit and trees. There is a vast number of these 
washes, many of which will do good work if thoroughly applied, 
which is usually the secret of success. A few which have proved 
of special value will be given at the close of this chapter. 



INSECTS BORING IN TWIG, STEM, OR ROOT 

Peach Twig-Borer or Peach Worm. — This larva is probably the 
most serious insect pest that the California peach grower has had to 
contend with. The creature hibernates as a young larva in burrows 
in the crotches of the tree. As soon as the tree begins to grow in 
the spring the larva becomes active, eats its way out of its winter 
home and bores into the new growing twigs causing them to wither 
and die. Later generations of the worm attack the fruit and from 



478 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

the two forms of attack much loss may accrue to the orchardist. 
Destruction of the larvae in their winter burrows overcomes all dam- 
age from these pests. This can be accomplished by spraying with 
the lime-sulphur compound in the late winter or very early spring 
when the buds are expanding. 

The Common Borer. — An insect which has done vast injury in 
this State is the "flat-headed apple borer" (chrysobothris femorata). 
It affects chiefly apples, peaches and plums, etc., which have been 
injured by sunburn. It is a pale-colored grub with a brown head, 
the forepart of the body being greatly flattened. The matured 
beetle is greenish black or bronze colored, copper colored on the 
under side. If any tree receives any damage to the bark, either by 
sunburn or other causes, the borer is sure to find it, and it works 
itself into the tree, its castings being the only guide to its presence. 
The best remedy is prevention by protection from sunburn, as de- 
scribed in Chapter XL 

In the summer and fall look for discolored places on the bark 
where the whitewash may not have reached, cut in and kill the grub 
with a knife, or, if you find a hole, push a wire to the end of it. This 
examination must include the bark below the loose ground surface, 
for younger trees are sometimes girdled at that point. Whenever a 
borer is removed, the debris and dead wood should be entirely 
cleaned out and the smooth surface left, taking care to preserve the 
bark as much as possible. Then the wound should be smeared over 
with grafting wax, and a rag tied about it. In this manner young 
trees have been saved, but if seriously attacked, it is better to put in 
a sound tree and protect it. 

Sun-Scald Borer. — Another borer which delights in sunburned 
trees is a minute beetle, making a burrow hardly larger than a pin- 
hole. It is known as the sun-scald beetle (Xyloborus xylographus). 
The remedy, as in the former case, is to prevent injury to the bark, 
for this precedes the attack of the beetle. 

The Olive Twig-Borer. — A reddish brown beetle boring into 
twigs of olive and other orchard trees, and grape canes, at the axils 
of the leaves. It is Polycaon confertus, and it breeds in decaying logs 
and stumps and old grape-vines, apparently visiting the fruit trees 
merely to gratify its appetite. Its work is not fatal to the tree, but 
unless proper pruning and attention be afterwards given, it may spoil 
the shape of the young tree. Remove the affected branches below 
the burrows of the beetle, or if it would be difficult to replace a 
branch, see that the beetle is destroyed and the entrance to the hole 
stopped up — this to prevent decay and a weak branch following. 
Spraying with ill-smelling solutions may prevent their attack, but 
the insect has not been sufficiently abundant to invite serious effort 
thus far. 

Peach Crown-Borer. — A grub boring into peach trees just below 
the ground surface, its presence being shown by copious gumming. 
Cut out the grubs thoroughly in the fall and winter. After digging 
out all that can be found a band six inches wide of "asphaltum D" 



INSECTS EATING FRUIT PULP 479 

should be placed in the spring on the rough bark around the base 
of bearing trees, a little above and below the ground line. This 
will keep in the perfect insects which come from the cocoons which 
are at the openings of the burrows and it will keep out the newly 
hatching larvae from eggs which will be then laid on the tree near 
the ground by the insects which are not shut in by the asphaltum. 
The material is applied warm with a brush. It is easier to apply 
two or more coatings than to try to put on more at one time than 
will adhere firmly. The first coating will harden very quickly, and 
the second can be applied without loss of time. Two coatings are 
generally sufficient unless the bark is very rough. A thick uniform 
covering is absolutely necessary for the best results. 

In the case of young trees with smooth bark, asphaltum may 
induce sunburn and crude oil whitewash is preferred. Fifty pounds 
of stone lime (in a barrel), slaked with from 10 to 15 gallons of 
warm water. While the lime is boiling, slowly pour in six gallons 
of heavy crude oil. Stir and add water to make a heavy paste and 
paint that on. This must be used the same day it is mixed and not 
used if kept over. 

Strawberry Root-Borer. — The larva of another clear-winged 
moth (Aegeria impropria), boring into the root of the strawberry 
plants, found in various portions of the State, and doing considerable 
damage, forcing the growers to resort to replanting much earlier 
than otherwise would be necessary. Flooding the vines has a great 
tendency to kill out the worms, and if the water was retained, say 
four or five days during the winter, all over the plants, doubtless all 
the larvae would be killed. 

Currant and Gooseberry Borer. — A white worm eating out the 
central pith of currant and gooseberry plants — the larva of another 
clear-winged moth (Aegeria tipuliformis). Spraying with whale-oil 
soap after the crop is gathered, pruning out and burning in the fall 
of all old wood which can be spared, will reduce the evil. 

The Raspberry Cane Borer. — This intruder is one of the family 
Tenthredinideae, or saw flies. The very small maggot or larva will 
be found by peeling the bark carefully. This larva can not crawl, 
therefore if the tips be cut and the worm is taken out he will die. A 
better way is to cut all tips, as fast as they show signs of wilting, and 
burn them. Thorough work in topping is absolutely necessary, so 
as to be sure that none of the worms remain to produce flies. Top- 
ping causes the canes to throw out laterals, thus producing more 
fruit. The canes are not affected after July. 

Another cane-borer, occurring in the foothills, has been identified 
by E. O. Essig, as the larva of a horn-tail. Its treatment is like that 
just described. 

INSECTS DEVOURING THE PULP OF FRUITS 

The Apple Worm. — The codlin moth (Carpocapsa pomonella) is 
one of the great pests of the State. It preys chiefly upon the apple 
and pear, but the quince and other large fruits are sometimes in- 



480 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



vaded by it. The first moths appear at some time after the blossom- 
ing of the apple, and deposit their eggs on the young fruit or on 
adjacent leaves. The young worm hatches in from seven to ten 
days, generally seeks the eye or calyx, and eats its way into the 
fruit, and in twenty days its full growth is attained, and it goes out 
through the side of the apple, and, by means of its spinnaret, 
reaches the ground or some large branch. If landed on the ground, 
it usually seeks the trunk, which it ascends and soon finds a hiding 
place under the loose bark, where it spins its cocoon, and in eight 
or ten days comes forth a moth, ready to lay eggs anew. The egg 
is laid all over the fruit and especially at a point where two fruits 
touch. Usually we have in this State two broods, at least, but some- 
times three, and, naturally, if unchecked, the increase from the first 
to the last is enormous. The worms escaping from the fruit in the 
fall hibernate as larvae under the loose bark of the tree, or in store- 
houses, or in any available dry place. 

This insect is effectually controlled by spraying with lead arse- 
nate. The times for spraying and number of applications differ in 
the several apple regions of the State and county horticultural com- 
missioners or farm advisors should be consulted. 

The Walnut Worm. — This is the codlin moth which also attacks 
apples and pears and is fought in the same way. It is also being 
fought with a dust spray of lead arsenate. 

The Peach Worm. — As already stated, the larva of the peach 
moth, which early in the spring bores into the twigs, is sometimes 
found later in the season in the flesh of the peach. Hence the im- 
portance of saving the fruit by proper treatment of the hibernating 
worms, which are killed as they emerge with lime-sulphur. 

The Diabrotica. — A light green beetle with twelve spots on his 
back (Diabrotica soror) is sometimes very injurious to early fruit, 
by eating into it when ripe. The insect also eats leaves and blos- 
soms. As it attacks the fruit just as it is ready to pick, it is im- 
possible to apply any disagreeable or poisonous spray. Sometimes 
the insects are driven away by dense smoke from fires in and around 
the orchard. 

The Dried Fruit Worm. — Dried fruit is often seriously injured 
after packing, by a small worm, larva of a moth. The eggs are 
deposited on the fruit either while drying or while in the packing- 
house, or through the cloth of the sacks, or seams of the package. 
The eggs may be killed on the fruit before packing, by dipping in 
boiling water, and after that preventing the access of the moth. In- 
fested fruit can also be treated by bisulphide vapor. 

ANTS AND YELLOW JACKETS 

These insects are often of serious trouble during fruit drying. 
Ants are most effectually disposed of by slightly opening their holes 
in the ground by thrusting down a crowbar and pouring in a couple 
of ounces of carbon bisulphide and closing again with earth. Yellow 



KILLING ANTS AND YELLOW JACKETS 481 

jackets also nest in the ground in old squirrel or gopher holes, and 
they too can be suffocated with carbon bisulphide or by pouring in 
gasoline or kerosene and firing it. Hornets which nest in trees are 
troublesome, but are much less numerous than the cave-dwelling 
species. 

Poisoning yellow jackets to carry destruction to the young brood 
is practicable. Dr. J. H. Miller, of San Leandro, saved his fruit 
in this way : 

I bought half a dozen beef livers, five pounds of arsenious acid and 
several pounds of baling wire. Cutting the liver into pieces as large as 
a man's fist, I put them into a hot solution of arsenious acid, and, bend- 
ing the wire into a hook at each end, I suspended the pieces from the 
lower limbs of trees all around my drying-ground. The fruit was soon 
deserted, and the insects busily worked at the fragrant liver, carrying 
pieces to their nests, causing the death of those that had been destroying 
the fruit and the next generation also, and so completely that there may 
not be enough of the pests in that neighborhood the following year to 
require a repetition of the treatment. There is no risk in so using the 
poison, for the yellow jackets will not return to the fruit, and bees will 
not go near the meat. 

When there are serious infestations of ants in the orchard, they 
can be overcome by hanging a dilute sweetened poison in flat two- 
ounce spice cans on the tree trunks close to the regular trails, fol- 
lowed up and down by the ants. The poison is prepared on a for- 
mula given below. A few strands of excelsior are inserted in the 
poison syrup. The ants get loaded up with the syrup, which does 
not kill them immediately. They carry some of it to the egg-laying 
queens and they all die. The cost is five to eight cents per tree. The 
poisoning is best done late in March, early in April, or during Sep- 
tember and October, Extermination has been accomplished in a 
number of cases. 

The U. S. Bureau of Entomology recommends the following 
formula for ant syrup "on account of its stability at high tempera- 
tures, freedom from crystalization, and continued attractiveness": 

Granulated sugar , 9 pounds 

Water 9 pints 

Tartaric acid (crystallized) 6 grams 

Benzoate of soda 8.4 grams 

Boil slowly for 30 minutes, Allow to cool. 

Dissolve sodium arsenite (C. P.) 15 grams 

In hot water yi pint 

Cool. Add poison solution to syrup and stir well. 

Add to ihe poisoned syrup: 
Honey 1 54 pounds 

Mix thoroughly. 



DISINFECTING NURSERY STOCK 

Cuttings, scions, young trees and vines, etc., can be freed from 
insects by inclosing in a tight box or cask and placing a saucerful 
of carbon bisulphide on the top of them, covering it with canvas or 
any tight-fitting cover. The bisulphide vapor will destroy all insect 
life in forty minutes. 



4^2 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

Disinfecting such materials on a larger scale with hydrocyanic 
acid gas may be done in this way : 

Use square canvas sheets, sixteen to twenty feet in diameter, made of 
the best ducking, double stitched and then painted with boiled linseed 
oil to make it gas-proof. To fumigate evergreen stock use one ounce 
of cyanide of potassium (in lumps, not pulverized), one fluid ounce of 
commercial sulphuric acid, and two fluid ounces of water to one hundred 
cubic feet of enclosed space. For deciduous and hardy trees, when dor- 
mant, use one-fourth more of each of the above. When the canvas has 
been placed over the stock to be fumigated, prepare the charge. Take a 
three or four-gallon glazed earthenware jar, into which pour the necessary 
quantity of water, then the sulphuric acid, and place it well under the can- 
vas, the edges of which are secured with soil or in some way so as to 
prevent the gas escaping, with the exception of the edge immediately 
in front of the jar. The proper amount of cyanide of potassium is then 
dropped into the jar from a long scoop, and the tent is immediately 
closed and remains so for one hour. 



Formula 21 is used for dipping nursery stock. 



INSECTICIDES 

Recipes and hints for use of insecticides may be summarized as 
follows : 

1. Lime Sulphur: 

Quicklime, 33 pounds; sulphur, 66 pounds; water, 200 gallons. 
Sift sulphur through box with screen bottom into boiling tank with 
50 gallons of water. Add the lime and boil 45 minutes to one hour. 
Stir frequently. Strain through cheese cloth or burlap and dilute to make 
200 gallons. If extra lime is desired strain in milk of lime when spray 
is ready for use. 

2. Commercial Lime Sulphur: 

If of 32 deg. Baume dilute 1 to 9. If 36 deg. dilute 1 to 11. 
Either of the above for San Jose and other armored scales to be ap- 
plied during dormant season, preferably in early winter or early spring. 
For Peach Moth, as the buds are expanding in the spring. 

3. Distillate 28 deg. to 34 deg. Baume: 

Distillate, 10 to 20 gallons; water, 200 gallons. 

For use only with power sprayer with good agitator, which is neces- 
sary to make a mechanical mixture of the oil and water. 

For the Brown Apricot, Black, and other unarmored scales, and for 
Woolly Aphis, to be applied during dormant season, preferably in early 
winter. 

4. Distillate Potash: 

Distillate, 10 gallons; lye or caustic soda, 5 pounds; water, 200 gallons. 
Preparation and uses same as under 3. Has the advantage of freeing 
trees from moss. 

5. Distillate Emulsion: 

Stock emulsion: Hot water, 12 gallons; fish oil (see 10) or whale-oil 

soap, 30 pounds; distillate 30 deg. to 34 deg., 20 gallons. 
Add soap to hot water in spray tank with agitator going. After soap 
is dissolved add oil slowly, keeping mixture agitated. Pump out through 
nozzle at 175 pounds pressure in storage tank. 

For use take: Stock emulsion, 11 gallons; blackleaf, 40, 1 pint; 
water, 200 gallons. 



APPROVED INSECTICIDES 483 

Place oil emulsion in spray tank, start agitator and add the water. 
When diluted add the Blackleaf. 

For thrips, Black Peach Aphis, and other plant lice. 

6. Kerosene Emulsion: 

Dissolve Yi pound soap in 1 gallon water; add 1 gallon kerosene. 
Mix thoroughly with spray pump by turning nozzle back into mixture, 

a. For plant lice and other sucking insects during growing season, di- 
lute with 15 to 25 gallons water. 

b. For scale insects, Woolly Aphis and other sucking insects during 
dormant season, dilute with 5 to 10 gallons water. 

On a small scale dissolve 1 inch cube soap in 1 pint hot water; add 1 
pint kerosene. Churn with egg beater. 

For growing plants, dilute to 2 or 3 gallons water. For dormant 
plants, 1 gallon. 

7. Miscible Oils: 

Commercial preparations of oil so treated as to mix directly with 
water. Follow directions on container. Uses same as 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 
and 10. 

8. Straight Kerosene or Water White Oil: 

Water white oil (42 deg. Baume) or kerosene, 20 gallons, water 200 
gallons. 

In use for scale insects of citrus trees. Application by power outfit. 

9. Soap Solution: 

Soap, 1 pound; water 5 to 15 gallons. 

Whale-oil or fish-oil soap preferable, but for small amounts any yellow 
laundry soap will answer. 

For plant lice and other sucking insects during summer. 

10. Homemade Soap: 

Water, 6 gallons; lye (98%), 2 pounds; fish oil, Ij/^ gallons. 

Add lye to water in boiler. When dissolved and water boiling, pour in 
the fish oil, stirring in mean time, and boil slowly for two hours. This 
will give about 40 pounds soap. 

For use, dilute with 5 to 15 gallons water for each pound. For same 
pests as No. 9. 

11. Tobacco or Nicotine: 

a. Blackleaf 40 (40% nicotine), 1 pint; water, 200 gallons. 

b. Tobacco stems, 1 pound; water, 4 gallons. 

Steep stems in 1 gallon warm water and dilute to 4 gallons. 

For plant lice and other sucking insects during growing season. For 
Woolly Aphis and Peach Aphis underground. A liberal solution, or the 
dry tobacco dust in early winter, about the base of the tree, the surface 
soil first being removed. 

12. Tobacco Soap: 

Blackleaf 40, 1 pound (1-10 gal.); liquid soap, 1 gallon — or 
Hard soap, 12 pounds; water, 200 gallons. 
Uses same as 11. Penetrating and wetting power better. 

13. Lime Sulphur Tobacco: 

Commercial lime sulphur 7>6 deg., 2.1 gallons; blackleaf 40, 14 fluid 
ounces; water, 200 gallons. 
For Orange Thrips. 

14. Carbolic Lime: 

Quicklime, 150 pounds; crude carbolic acid, 2 gallons; water 200 
gallons. 
For a disinfecting whitewash. 



434 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

15. Sulphur: 

a. Dry. Thoroughly dust over foliage, preferably when moist with 
dew. Hydrated lime about equal parts with sulphur will increase 

adhesiveness. 

b. Spray. Commercial sulphur paste, 30 pounds; water 200 gallons. 

c. Spray Commercial lime sulphur, 4 to 5 gallons; water 200 gallons. 
For Red Spiders and Silver Mite. 

16. Lead Arsenate: 

The basic type of lead arsenate contains less arsenic per pound than 
the acid type, and is a weaker and slower-acting poison. It is not de- 
composed, however, by chemicals of an alkaline nature, such as are us- 
ually applied with it as a combination spray, nor by the damp weather of 
the coast regions. It is considered the only safe arsenical to use on stone 
fruits, beans or other susceptible plants. 

The lead arsenates are usually sold as a paste containing about 50 per 
cent of water, or as a dry powder. The paste should be thinned with^ 
water and worked into a smooth cream before adding to the spray tank. 
The powder may be added directly to the tank and mixed by means of 
the agitator. 

For codlin moth and defoliating insects, use: 
Acid lead arsenate paste, 4 to 8 pounds; water, 100 gallons — or 
Basic lead arsenate paste, 5 to 10 pounds; water, 100 gallons. 

Dry or powdered lead arsenate contains twice as much arsenic as the 
paste, therefore use only one-half as much as in the above formulas. 

17. Paris Green: 

Paris green, 1 1-3 to 2 pounds; water, 200 gallons. 
For Codlin Moth and most defoliating insects. 

Not to be used along coast or moist situations where injury is likely 
to result to foliage. 

On a small scale use Paris green, 1 teaspoonful (^ oz.); lime, 3 tea- 
spoonfuls; water, 2 gallons. 

18. Zinc Arsenate: 

Zinc arsenite, 2 to 6 pounds; water, 200 gallons. 
A powerful poison for resistant insects, as the Tussock Moth, or for 
early spraying for Canker Worm and Codlin Moth in the dry interior 
climates. 

19. Poison Bran-Mash: 

Bran, 25 pounds; white arsenic, 1 pound; molasses (cheap blackstrap 
preferred), 2 quarts. 
Mix the arsenic and the bran dry, and add the molasses, which has 
been diluted with enough water to mix thoroughly to make a dry mash 
which will broadcast easily. 

19a. Citrus Bran-Mash: 

White arsenic, 1 pound; molasses (cheap blackstrap preferred), 2 

quarts; lemons (or oranges), 6 fruits; water (about), 4 gallons; 

bran, 25 pounds. 

Stir thoroughly the arsenic, molasses and water. Grind the lemons, 

including the rinds, in a meat grinder, or chop fine, and add to this 

liquid. Then slowly pour this over the bran and stir thoroughly until 

an even mixture is secured. 

For Cut Worms and Grasshoppers, distribute a small handful about 
the base of the vine or tree, or scatter about plants in the garden. May 
be distributed broadcast for Grasshoppers and Army Worms. 

20. Carbon Bisulphide: 

For treatment of stored products and underground insects. 
Usual dosage, 1 pint to 1,000 cubic feet space. 

Place liquid in saucers or shallow vessels above material to be treated. 
Inflammable; avoid lights. 

For underground insects, a tablespoonful m holes 3 or 4 feet apart. 



DISINFECTING NURSERY TREES 



485 



21. Resin Dipping Solution: 

Resin, 20 pounds; caustic soda or lye, 8 pounds; fish oil, 3 pints; 
water, 100 gallons. 
Boil resin and caustic soda in 50 gallons of water for 1 hour. Dilute 
to 100 gallons. 

In use for dipping citrus nursery stock for scale insects and Red Spiders. 
Kerosene emulsion and lime sulphur solution also used for dipping de- 
ciduous nursery stock. 

Hydrocyanic Acid Gas. — For details of fumigation processes for 
scale insects on citrus trees, apply for publications to the University 
Experiment Station and to Horticultural Commissioners in citrus 
fruit growing counties. The materials are so poisonous, the appli- 
ances so elaborate and the operation, to secure efficient insect kill- 
ing without injury to the tree, is so exact and systematic that careful 
and experienced fumigators are essential. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

DISEASES OF TREES AND VINES 

A few suggestions concerning pathological conditions which 
arise in trees and vines and prescription of treatment and remedies 
may be helpful : First, diseases demonstrated to be caused by fungi 
and bacteria ; second, abnormal conditions, of which the causes are 
not yet clear.* 

Powdery Mildews. — Fungi which bring upon the leaf surface the 
appearance of a whitish powder and afterwards cause the leaf to curl 
and dry without producing marked swelling, perforation or dis- 
coloration, can be checked by the use of sulphur. The chief of these 
is the mildew of the grape, the mildew of the apple, appearing 
chiefly on the young growth, etc. For vine mildew freely apply 
finely ground or sublimed sulphur on the young foliage at the first 
sign of the trouble. Apple mildew is treated by removing all dis- 
torted twigs at pruning. 

Leaf-Spotting, Puncturing or Deforming Fungi. — These classes 
are usually distinguishable by the results they produce. The mildew 
of the peach produces dense, whitish patches on the leaves and grow- 
ing fruit ; the curl-leaf fungus of the peach produces swellings and 
contortions of the leaf ; the scab of the apple and pear produces first 
a smoky appearance on the leaf and afterwards causes black scabby 
patches on the fruit and on the young twigs ; the slot-hole fungus 
of the apricot, plum, cherry, and almond cuts roundish holes in the 
leaves as though a shotgun had been discharged through the foliage, 
and then, in the case of the apricot, produces roundish, dark red 
pustules on the fruit; the brown rot which attacks both twigs and 
fruit of apricots, prune, blackberry, etc., produces eruptions on 
plums and peaches ; the rust fungi of the under sides of the leaves, 
first of a yellowish or orange color, changing to dark brown or black, 
and causing the leaf to fall. These fungi are only slightly, if at all, 
checked by the dry sulphur treatment, and are best subdued by the 
use of the Bordeaux mixture as follows : 

Bluestone, 16 pounds; quicklime, 20 pounds; water, 200 gallons. 

Dissolve the bluestone and slake the lime in separate vats. Thoroughly 
mix the dissolved bluestone with one-half the water, and the slaked lime 
with the other half. Run the two mixtures together in a single stream 
into the spray tank through a fine screen. For convenience the mixing 
vats may be placed on an elevated platform, and the two parts mixed as 
they are flowing into the spray tank. The milk of lime should be con- 
tinuously stirred during the mixing. 

This is safe to use on foliage. In the case of the peach blight, 
which is an invasion of the young bark by the shot-hole fungus, an 

*The latest detailed publication on plant diseases, reviewing comprehensively existing 
knowledge on the subject and suggesting treatment is Circular 227 of the University 
Experiment Station, already cited. 



BLIGHTS AND DISEASES 437 

autumn spraying is imperative to protect the dormant twigs. In 
spraying for apple and pear scab, the addition of five pounds of 
lead arsenate to each one hundred gallons of Bordeaux mixture 
makes the application answer also for the codlin moth, as described 
in the preceding chapter. 

The lime, salt and sulphur mixture, as already prescribed for 
scale insects in the preceding chapter, is an active fungicide for 
winter use. It is a satisfactory curl-leaf preventive when used just 
before the buds open. 

Toadstool Destruction. — Trees are often destroyed through in- 
vasion by toadstool fungi from the decaying roots or wood with 
which their roots come in contact. Prof. W. T. Home, who has 
made a special study of the trouble for several years, provides the 
following summary : 

The Armillaria root-rot or "oak fungus" is caused by a native fungus which 
lives in roots of woody plants. Trees and bushes are killed in spots, which 
enlarge year after year. Afifected trees fail gradually from the diseased side 
or die suddenly in summer. Under the affected bark of roots there is a yel- 
lowish white fan-shaped mycelium which progresses into live bark. Black 
shining root-like strings (rhizomorphs) grow out from old rotting roots. 
The wood decays with a uniform white rot. Large tan-brown toadstools 
(edible when cooked) arise from old infections in October to February. 
Surgery as in Crown Gall ("root knot") or Pear Blight can sometimes be 
practised on roots and crowns of trees not too far gone. Black walnut, 
French pear, and fig roots are practically immune. Annual fibrous rooted 
plants are rarely injured. Afifected areas in orchard may be isolated by open- 
ing a trench 3 to 4 feet deep around them. This may be filled immediately 
if reopened every two years to keep the roots cut oflf. Nursery should not 
be planted in infected soil. 

Moss, Lichens, etc., on the Bark. — All trees should be assisted 
to maintain clean, healthy bark. This is accomplished by the use 
of the lime, salt and sulphur mixture already prescribed for scale 
insects. It can also be done by winter spraying with caustic soda 
or potash, one pound to ten gallons of water. Hard hitting with 
power sprayer is necessary. 

Blights and Decays. — There are several blights which are trace- 
able to bacteria, parasitic growths which are not discernible as 
are the fungi, and not usually amenable to spray treatment, be- 
cause they exist wholly within the tissues of the plant and are not 
reached by applications. The blights of the pear, the black heart 
of the apricot, the olive tuberculosis, etc., are instances. Cutting 
back to healthy wood (with tools dipped after each cut in corro- 
sive sublimate, one part to one thousand parts of water), and burn- 
ing all removed parts, is the best treatment which can at present 
be prescribed. 

The walnut blight is caused by a bacterium, and has so far re- 
sisted treatment. The disease appears on the nuts, generally worst 
at the blossom end and usually first seen there early in the season ; 
later the spots run together and encompass considerable areas of 
the surface, and the nut is transformed into a hateful black mass 
and is utterly destroyed. The disease also affects the leaves and 



483 CALIFORNIA FRUITS; HOW TO GROW THEM 

young wood, but does not attack the old wood and the roots as the 
pear bHght does. It is therefore less serious, though it sometimes 
considerably reduces the crop. The recourse seems to be toward 
resistant varieties, as stated in the chapter on the walnut. 

DISEASES NOT TRACEABLE TO PARASITIC GROWTHS 

Sour Sap. — There is a fermentation of the sap, quite noticeable 
by its odor, which may be found in all parts of the tree, from the 
root to the topmost twigs ; sometimes in one part and not in an- 
other. Sour sap in the root is generally due to standing water 
in the soil, and the remedy is drainage. Trees thus affected make 
an effort to grow and then the young growth shrivels. Severe 
cutting back of the top to reduce the evaporation until the roots 
can restore their feeding fibers is the only treatment of the tree, 
and its success depends upon the extent of the root injury. Sour 
sap may also be caused in the branches by the occurrence of frost 
after the sap flow has actually started. Cutting back the diseased 
parts, as soon as discovered, to sound wood, is the proper treat- 
ment. Serious injury to nursery trees which is sometimes called 
"sour sap" is described on page 99. 

Die-Back. — Dying back of twigs or branches may occur without 
parasitic invasion through root weakness or partial failure. It may 
be due to standing water or to lack of soil moisture, either of which 
will destroy the root-hairs and bring the tree into distress. The 
treatment is cutting back to sound wood and correcting the soil 
conditions, either by irrigation or drainage, as one or the other may 
be needed. 

Gummosis. — Gumming is not always to be considered in itself 
a disease, but rather an indication of conditions unfavorable to the 
thrifty growth of the tree. It has been usually found by investi- 
gation that trees in perfect condition of health, with the moisture 
just enough and not excessive, are not troubled with gumming; 
but there are cases in which this statement does not wholly apply. 
Prof. H. S. Fawcett has demonstrated that in some cases it is com- 
municable because of a fungus cause. Full accounts of this may 
be had in University publications. 

When there is an outbreak of gum where it can be treated it is 
desirable to cleanly remove all the unhealthy bark — cutting clean 
to sound bark and covering the wound with Bordeaux paste pre- 
pared as follows : 

One pound of bluestone dissolved in 1 gallon of water in a wooden 
or earthen vessel by hanging it in the top in a sack. Two pounds of 
unslaked lime, slaked in about one-half gallon of water. Stir together 
when cool, making a light blue mixture about the consistency of white- 
wash. Apply with a brush. This may also be applied to healthy bark 
as a preventive against new infections. 

Root Knots. — These are excrescences upon the roots or at the 
root crown of various trees and of grape-vines. Some of the knots 
have been studied and the cause demonstrated to be a fungus and 



REMOVING ROOT KNOTS 



489 



the disease infectious. If the knot has not increased in size suf- 
ficiently to seriously interfere with the growth of the tree it can 
be smoothly removed, the wound treated with the Bordeaux paste, 
and the knot usually will not reappear. 

A record of experience in removing root knots is the following 
by E. O. Amundsen, formerly Farm Adviser of Placer county, but 
now (1921) Professor of Horticulture in the Transvaal University, 
South Africa. This is his California experience: 

I have cut out great areas of root-knots from large cherry and plum 
trees during the growing and dormant seasons and covered with either 
Bordeaux paste or asphaltum. As the Bordeaux later flakes off and the 
asphaltum does not, I prefer the latter, but whitewash over it to prevent 
excessive heat absorption. The asphaltum is an excellent disinfectant, 
sticks closely, and is cheap. Lately I have used, instead of asphaltum, 
prepared asphaltum paints or cement paint. These are in liquid form and 
easier to apply than asphaltum. They dry readily and form a protective 
coat over the wound. In no case have we had any bad results from cut- 
ting out crown-gall at any season. Sometimes we do not get all of the 
gall the first time. We watch it and cut again if any gall shows up on 
the edges of the wound. 

A systematic treatment of root-knots on almond trees near 
Chico began in 1918 with chiseling off knots, disinfecting with cor- 
rosive sublimate solution and covering with asphaltum. Eighty-five 
per cent of the trees on thirty acres had to be operated on. Two 
years later only five per cent showed regrowth of knots, the wounds 
were re-barking and the trees were improved in appearance. It de- 
pends upon the condition of the tree whether it is worth while to 
remove the knots or not. If the tree has the start of the knot, it will 
be helped by removal ; if the knot has the start of the tree so that it 
is unthrifty, there is small chance of reinvigorating it. This is ap- 
parently true, both with young and old trees. Old trees are some- 
times badly knotted and still productive and profitable. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

SUPPRESSION OF INJURIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS 

The beasts of the field and the fowls of the air are sometimes 
such grevious trespassers upon the fruit plantation that protection 
has to be sought against them. The animals which figure in this 
evil work are mainly species of rodentia, some of them burrowers ; 
as, for example, the ground-squirrel and gopher; others, surface 
dwellers, like the hare or jackass rabbit. Occasionally there is in- 
jury done by deer in the orchard and vineyard, and coons in the 
melon patch, but these larger animals may usually be left to the 
hunters and dogs. 

RABBITS 

Though there are three species prevalent, none are burrowers. 
This fact has led to united efforts at their suppression by driving 
them with mounted horsemen, from a wide stretch of country into 
a narrow, fenced enclosure, where they are killed with clubs. Dur- 
ing the last few years tens of thousands have been killed in this 
way, and comparatively few are now found in the localities where 
the method has been adopted. Still, however, there are plenty at 
large to vex the planter, and he must protect himself against them. 

Rabbit Fences. — The surest protection against rabbits is a fence 
which prevents their entrance, and many miles of such fence have 
been built in this State. Several styles prevail. The ordinary 
board fence, with the boards running horizontally, is made rabbit- 
proof by placing the lower boards close together, with openings of 
but about two inches between them. A barbed wire, with barbs 
about two and one-half inches apart, can be used to advantage by 
running it along at or a little below the surface of the ground to 
prevent scratching under. 

The cost of board fences has led to the use of barbed wire and 
woven wire fencing, the styles of which can be seen in all fruit- 
growing sections. 

Smears Distasteful to Rabbits. — Where the expense of a fence 
can not be assumed, measurable protection can be had by sprinkling 
the leaves or smearing the stems of plants with substances distaste- 
ful to the animals, which are quite dainty in this respect. Com- 
mercial aloes, one pound to four gallons of water, both sprinkled 
on leaves and painted on the bark, gives a bitter taste, which repels 
rabbits. A tea made of steeping quassia chips is said to produce the 
same effect. Rancid grease, bacon rind, liquid manure, putrescent 
flesh or blood, have all been used as a daub for tree trunks, and have 
been approved. This prescription has been approved: 

Kill a rabbit, take an ax and mutilate the entrails and foreparts in a 
mess. Put this into a can with a gallon or more of water. Let it stand 



POISONING ANIMALS AND BIRDS 



491 



a few days until it becomes foul. Put a sponge with some disinfectant 
over your nose and swab the vines with the liquid. Quantity depends 
on acreage. 

The following is also commended as a repellant rather less of- 
fensive to administer : 

One pint of cod liver oil, one ounce of black leaf "40", two bars of 
laundry soap, 25 gallons of water. Heat water to boiling point and add 
above ingredients; then mix in enough flour to make a thin soup. This 
may be applied to young trees with a brush. 

Rabbit Poison. — Pieces of watermelon rind, cantaloupe, or other 
vegetable of which they are very fond, may be poisoned with strych- 
nine, and then scattered along trails used by the rabbits. They 
will not touch the bark as long as they can find this bait, and one 
meal is effective, for the rabbit never goes far away from it. 

Another preparation is half a teaspoonful of powdered strych- 
nine, two teaspoonfuls of fine salt, and four of granulated sugar. 
Put all in a tin box and shake well. Pour in small heaps on a board. 
It hardens into a solid mass. They lick it for the salt, and the 
sugar disguises the poison, which kills great numbers. 

Mr. C. F. Collins, formerly horticultural commissioner of Tulare 
county, says that the following is effective. Thoroughly mix 4 
parts of Paris green and 6 parts flowers of sulphur dust upon the 
vines in the same manner as if sulphuring the vines for mildew. 
This will, he says, kill and repel rabbits and control mildew. 

The following formula is suggested by D. A. Gilchrist, U. S. 
biological survey, as an effective tree wash for protection against 
rabbits : 

"Dissolve one ounce strychnine sulphate in three quarts of boiling 
water and add one-half pint of laundry starch, previously dissolved in one 
pint of cold water. Boil this mixture until it becomes a clear paste. Add 
one ounce of glycerine and stir thoroughly. When sufificiently cool, 
apply to trunks of trees with a paint brush. Rabbits that gnaw the bark 
will be killed before the tree is injured." 

SQUIRRELS AND GOPHERS 

There is in operation a forced system of destroying ground 
squirrels under a special law being administered by the county 
horticultural commissioners, and all details can be had from such 
officers or from the State Directors of Agriculture at Sacramento. 
Full details of the life histories of ground squirrels and gophers can 
be had by applying to the University Experiment Station at Berk- 
eley for Circular 181 and Bulletins 281 and 302. These publications 
describe methods of killing by fumigation, trapping and poisoning 
which will enable any energetic fruit growers to overcome these 
pests. 

DESTRUCTIVE BIRDS 

Fruit growers generally appreciate the value of insectiverous 
birds, but there are feathered pests which do such ruinous work 
in disbudding the trees in springtime and in destroying the ripe 



492 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

fruit that protective measures have to be adopted against them. 
The so-called "California linnet," which is not a linnet, but a 
finch (Carpodacus frontalis), a persistent destroyer of buds, and the 
English sparrow, infamous the world over, are probably the most 
grevious pests, though there are other destructive birds, including 
the beautiful California quail, which is protected by law, and yet 
must be destroyed in some parts of the State or the grape crop must 
be abandoned. 

For the killing of the smaller birds, cutting oranges or other 
fruits available at the time in halves, spreading strychnine over the 
cut surface and impaling the half oranges on twigs high up in the 
apricot trees, has destroyed hundreds of linnets. Some advocate 
the use of the shotgun, No. 30 caliber, with a small charge of good 
powder and No. 10 shot. As many as five hundred linnets have been 
killed in two days. The advantage of this plan is that one kills lin- 
nets and not other birds, while poison kills both friends and foes. 

The California law allows you to poison English sparrows and 
"California linnets," but if you kill other birds in the process you 
will be liable to prosecution — if an officer of the bird-protectors' 
union gets onto it. The latest bird poison is this : Strychnine 
(powdered), ^ oz. ; Karo molasses, % pint; soda, ^^ teaspoonful; 
bran, 5 pounds. Mix the Karo and strychnine in a gallon tin can, 
add the soda and stir. To this mixture add about a half-pint of 
water and pour over the 5 pounds of bran. Stir the entire mixture 
thoroughly. If necessary to make a dry dough add a little more 
water. Place the poisoned bran in small boxes, etc., and fasten into 
the trees or on posts. 



CHAPTER XLV. 

PROTECTION FROM WIND AND FROSTS 

Though the climate of California renders unnecessary the pro- 
tection against rigorous weather which fruit growers in some other 
parts of the world have to provide, there is often advantage in se- 
curing shelter from winds and protection from late frosts. 

The general subject of forest planting in California, and the 
effect of preservation and extension of our forest area upon our fruit 
industries, has received the attention of our best-informed growers. 
The planting of shelter belts at intervals across our broad valleys at 
right angles to the courses of prevailing or most violent winds, has 
also been urged with great force. These greater enterprises and 
projects are beyond the scope of this treatise. It is rather concern- 
ing the planting of trees to shelter individual possessions that a few 
suggestions will be offered. 

It has been already remarked that on the immediate coast the 
successful growth of fruit will sometimes be wholly dependent upon 
proper shelter from prevailing winds, and in regions farther from 
the ocean the topography may induce strong currents of air which 
will illy affect trees and vines. In all such places the fruit grower 
should plant wind-breaks, and will find himself well repaid for the 
ground they occupy, by the successful production of the protected 
area. 

In the interior valleys there is also need for shelter from oc- 
casional high winds which may visit the orchards either in summer 
or winter, and prove destructive both to trees and fruit. In some 
cases long lines of the sheltering trees have been cut down because 
they affected the fruiting of orchard trees planted too near them, and 
afterwards the losses through lack of protection were far greater 
than would have been incurred by retaining them. 

What Kind of Trees to Plant. — This is a question concerning 
which there is much to be learned. Data is accumulating in the 
growth of trees planted to test their suitability, and the future 
planter will have more certain ground to proceed upon than is now 
available. Mention will be made, however, of a few trees, which 
are now most widely grown. 

The most widely planted shelter tree is the Eucalyptus globulus, 
or Australian blue gum. It is a rapid grower and voracious feeder, 
and wonderful for root extension, for which it has been roundly 
abused. It is doubtful, however, whether we have a better tree for 
high growth, and consequent large area over which its shelter will be 
felt. It is deficient in undergrowth, and if a close screen is desired, 
the planting of eucalyptus and Monterey cypress (Cupressus macro- 
carpa) is a common practice. The latter also attains a good height, 



494 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

but its broad, thick base fills the gaps between the bare stems of the 
gum trees. Another tree which has often been planted with the blue 
gum, to supply a thick, low growth, is the pepper tree {Schinus 
molle). It is also grown in rows by itself. It makes a dense head, 
grows rapidly, and flourishes without much care. Trees planted 
eighteen feet apart will soon come together and make a dense wall 
of very beautiful, bright, light-green foliage. The pepper is not 
only a good windbreak, but also an excellent dust-catcher. Unlike 
most trees which are used for this purpose, it does not become laden 
with dust. The leaves are smooth and glossy, and therefore repel 
the dust particles, which, stopped in their flight by the dense foliage 
of the tree, instead of clinging to it drop to the ground. The growth 
of the pepper tree near the coast is much slower than that of the 
Monterey cypress. The eucalyptus and the cypress for the coast, and 
the eucalyptus and pepper for the interior valleys, make, probably, 
as perfect a wall of foliage all the year round as can be had. The blue 
gum is, however, somewhat subject to frost killing, especially when 
young, and in very frosty places is objected to on that account. A 
number of other species of eucalyptus are now being planted, and are 
being found more hardy than the blue gum. The rostrata, rudis, 
tereticornis, polyanthema, amygdalina, viminalis and others are of this 
character. 

The Monterey pine (Pinus insignis) is a rapid, high-growing tree, 
and, though a native of the coast, has proved itself well adapted to 
the interior valleys of the central portion of the State. Its foliage is 
dense for a pine, and its shelter, therefore, the more complete. A 
native white cedar (Libocedrus decurrens) has also been employed as 
a shelter tree in the San Joaquin Valley, and is commended as a 
rapid grower in the interior as on the coast. Its ability to stand 
drouth, heat and frost is said to exceed that of any of the conifers 
of the seacoast. It stands well in the most exposed situations, as its 
roots run very deep into the earth and it is claimed that it does not 
sap the fertility from the soil around its base, as with the blue gum. 
It is also said to be less subject to frost injury than the Monterey 
cypress and pine. 

All the foregoing are evergreen trees, and therefore aflford pro- 
tection summer and winter alike. Of deciduous trees there are many 
which may be well employed. The California black walnut makes a 
very satisfactory growth both in the interior and upon the coast, and 
is largely used for roadside planting. The California broad-leaved 
maple (Acer macrophylla) is very beautiful, rapid in growth, and 
dense in foliage, and the same is true of the box elder (Acer ne- 
grundo), but probably both trees are especially suited to the coast 
regions. Of the poplars, the Carolina (Populus monilifera) is 
best, because of its breadth, density of foliage, and comparative free- 
dom from suckering. The locust (Rohinia pseudacacia) is used to 
some extent, but its suckering is very objectionable. 

Quite a number of the larger-growing deciduous fruit trees are 
used to some extent along the exterior lines of orchards for the pro- 
tection of the inclosure. The fig, the walnut, the chestnut, seedling 
almonds, and apricots are especially commended for such use. 



PROTECTION FROM FROSTS 



495 



Growing Trees from Seed. — Much that has been said in Chapter 
VIII will be suggestive to one who desires to grow his own shelter 
trees from seed. Trees from small seeds are best grown in boxes, 
and in many cases, as with eucalyptus and cypress especially, do 
best when put in permanent place when quite small. Whether put 
at once in permanent place, or in nursery, the land should be deeply 
worked and the young plant well planted and cared for. 

Cultivation of Shelter Trees. — If one desires rapid growth of 
shelter trees, they should be cultivated the first few years as 
thoroughly as an orchard. Much disappointment results from al- 
lowing roadside trees to shift for themselves in a hard, dry soil. 
With such treatment the root extension is naturally most rapid into 
cultivated orchard ground, which is undesirable. Cultivate and en- 
rich the roadside, and the tree will grow chiefly on the waste land. 
At the same time the roadside will be prevented from producing 
vast quantities of weed seed, to be blown over the fence, and the 
place will have a name for neatness, which is too rare even in Cali- 
fornia. 

PROTECTION FROM FROSTS 

Much attention has been given during recent years to the pro- 
tection of citrus fruits as they approach maturity, and of deciduous 
fruits as they are starting on their growth, from occasional fall of 
the mercury a few degrees below the freezing point. It has been 
shown by ample experience that fruits may escape injury by a 
temperature of 28 degrees if the ground surface is wet and the ex- 
posure be but of short duration. Fruit has, therefore, been saved by 
irrigation, while that over dry ground has been nipped by the same 
temperature. About the same result has been secured by checking 
radiation of heat by covering the orchard or vineyard with a cloud 
of smoke. Both these protective measures fail when the tempera- 
ture falls a few degrees below 28 degrees or when such freezing 
temperature is continued for several hours. 

During recent years much progress has been made in preventing 
frost by numerous small fires distributed among the trees to be pro- 
tected and many devices to secure such distributed heat easily and 
economically are being enterprisingly promoted by inventors and 
manufacturers. The extreme low temperatures of January, 1913, 
gave full opportunities for testing orchard heating appliances and 
very striking success was had with them. Comparative tests and 
observations have been made by the experts of the University Ex- 
periment Station, but conclusions are not available at this date. 
They must be looked for in Experiment Station bulletins, in the pub- 
lications of the U. S. Weather Bureau* and in horticultural journals. 
The subject is clearly seen to be too complex to admit of a brief 
generalization except to say that, when orchard heating is thorough- 
ly and economically done, it is a most profitable investment and 
should be studied by all growers. 

•The latest review of the subject is to be found in Farmers' Bulletin, No. 1096, on 
"Frost and the Prevention of Damages by It." It can be had free by writing to the 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



496 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

SUSCEPTIBILITY OF DECIDUOUS FRUITS 

The most systematic observations of danger points in deciduous 
fruits have been made by Dr. J. C. Whitten and Professor W. L. 
Howard in the course of their work at the Missouri Experiment 
Station. Both these experts are now connected with the California 
Experiment Station at Berkeley and the local bearing of their re- 
searches may be had from them by any one interested in the subject. 
Their work in Missouri involved artificially freezing thousands of 
peach buds, from which these conclusions were drawn : 

"Fully dormant peach buds can stand 8 or 9° below zero, F. When they 
are appreciably swollen, zero is the danger point. When the buds are show- 
ing pink, they can stand 15° above zero. When the buds are almost open, 
25° is the danger point. When they are newly opened, about 26° would be 
the point of danger. When the petals are beginning to fall, 28° above zero 
is dangerous. When the petals are oflf they can stand 30° above zero. When 
the 'shucks' (calyx lobes) are beginning to fall oflf, 32° is the danger point." 
Presumably these limits would apply also to the apricot and almond. 

Apple buds, when the petals begin to show, can stand from 10 to 12 de- 
grees of freezing. When the petals are well emerged, but have not opened, 
they can stand from 4 to 6 degrees of freezing, but when open, but not yet 
fertilized, there would be great danger at two or three degrees below the 
freezing point. When the flowers have been fertilized, the petals dropped, 
and the young fruit increasing in size, the slender stems which support the 
apples are unable to resist a temperature lower than the freezing point. The 
apples seem to be more hardy than their stems, but if the latter are injured of 
course the fruit also suffers. Similar behavior may be expected from the pear, 
cherry and plum. 

Orohard Frost Studies. — In connection with the foregoing it is 
interesting to note conclusions which Prof. Fabian Garcia draws 
from several years' observation of frost effects in the orchard of the 
New Mexico Experiment Station and of which full details are given 
in Bulletin 89 of that station : 

The data recorded at the Station show that the fruit-buds, particularly 
those of the peach, at their different stages of development are somewhat 
more resistant to cold than has been reported by observers from other 
parts of the United States. The data further show that the degree of re- 
sistability to frost varies with different stages of growth. 

The peach is least resistant when it is about the size of a pea, when the 
calices are falling off. Contrary to the findings of other observers, the 
bloom is not the most tender stage of growth. In other words, the data 
indicate that the newly set peach is more delicate than the newly opened 
blossom. 

In the majority of cases a temperature of 26 degrees, lasting only a 
short time, did little or no injury to the opening bud, newly opened 
blossom or newly set fruit of the peach, native plum, pear and apple; 
while one-half a degree below this or 25^/2 degrees, although lasting only 
a few minutes, killed a large percentage of the opening buds, newly set 
blossoms and young fruits of the peach, in a number of cases. In other 
words, 26 degrees was the danger point, and any temperature below this 
is liable to do more or less injury; depending on how low it gets and 
how long it remains at that temperature. In some cases, however, a 
temperature of 24 degrees lasting only a short time left about 25% of 
the blooms and 9% of the newly set fruits uninjured. 

Three important factors that influence the amount of damage done by 
spring frosts are: the degree of killing temperature, the time of day at 
which it occurs, and the length of time the temperature remains below the 
danger point The longer the time the killing temperature remains and the 



DELAYING BLOOM OF FRUIT TREES 497 

nearer it is to sunrise, the greater the amount of damage that should be 
expected. 

As a rule, the killing temperature recorded in these experiments oc- 
curred in the morning, from one to two hours before sunrise. Whenever 
the killing temperature occurred this late in the morning, and remained 
below the danger point until sunrise, the injury was great. On the other 
hand, if the minimum occurred at midnight, or a little later, and then 
gradually rose to the freezing point, so that the frozen buds, blooms and 
fruits had time to thaw out slowly before sunrise, the injury was in- 
significant. This was the case April 5, 1910, when at 2:15 A. M. the tem- 
perature was 24}i degrees. By 5:30 it had risen to 31 degrees, and the 
injury done to the Alexander peaches — which were in full bloom — was 
estimated at 2]4%. 

As the young fruit develops it seems to get more tender, until it grows 
beyond a certain size, when it seems to get hardier again; so that the 
later frosts which come after the young fruits have made quite a growth 
are liable to do more injury than the same degree of cold in the earlier 
part of the season, when the fruits are less developed. At this stage of 
growth, 26^ to 27 degrees would probably be dangerous to peaches. The 
very late frost of 25 degrees on May 4, 1912, killed practically all the 
peaches in the experimental orchard, while 24^ degrees on April 17, 1910, 
left about 30% of the Elbertas. 

On the whole, apples and pears seem to be more resistant than 
peaches and plums. This was strongly indicated in 1912, when practically 
all the peach crop was destroyed on May 4, by a temperature of 25 de- 
grees; while there was a very heavy crop of pears and apples harvested 
the following fall. 

European and native plums seem to be slightly hardier than Japanese 
plums and apricots, which are the least resistant of all the fruits included in 
the test. 

DELAYING BLOOM BY WHITEWASH 

Another suggestion comes from Missouri. It is concerning de- 
laying activity in deciduous trees by spraying with whitewash to 
reflect heat — the absorption of which by dark bark causes the ac- 
tivity of the tree to begin. Prof. J. C. Whitten of the University 
Experiment Station says: 

Purple coloring matter on untreated peach trees often absorbs heat 
enough on a sunny cold day in winter to raise the temperature of the 
trees 25 degrees or more above the temperature of the atmosphere. Whit- 
ened trees remain at atmospheric temperature or usually a degree or so 
below. 

For ten consecutive years we whitewashed diagonal rows of peach trees 
across the Experiment Station orchard just before midwinter. In this section 
we had five general peach crops during that ten years on untreated trees; 
on whitewashed trees of the same varieties we had eight crops. The five 
crops on untreated trees were not all full crops; the eight crops on 
treated trees were all but two full crops. More than double the amount 
of fruit was secured in ten years on the whitewashed trees. The treated 
trees were anywhere from a few days up to ten days later in blooming. 
In years when normal weather prevailed until sudden warm spells brought 
the trees into bloom hurriedly, there was only a little difference in time 
of blooming, and under normal conditions there was a week or more 
difference in their blooming. This is less important, however, than the 
fact that the whitewashed trees began their first starting into slight growth 
on sunny days in late winter fully six weeks later than the naked trees. 

The writer is not aware that whitewashing to delay bloom has 
directly entered into California practice, but it may have had in- 



498 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

directly much influence in that direction. The free use of lime-sul- 
phur and Bordeaux mixture for other purposes may have mci- 
dentally delayed bloom while protecting the tree from too early sap 
flow which following frost turned to ill-account by causmg die-back, 
sour sap and for which whitewashing is being confidently prescribed 
as a preventive. 



PART TEN : MISCELLANEOUS 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

UTILIZING FRUIT WASTES 

Some progress has recently been attained in the securing of 
horticultural by-products from various kinds of fruit wastes. There 
has been a considerable product of cream of tartar from the pomace 
and lees of the wineries in Central California. In Southern Cali- 
fornia citric acid factories have to some extent used lemons rejected 
in packing, and some other by-products of citrus fruits are being 
secured in considerable quantities. Vinegar from wine and cider 
are, of course, made here as everywhere in fruit countries. 

There is also a good demand for fruit pits. During the last few 
years they have sold profitably. 

Comparative value of fruits, and hay, grains, meals, etc. 

100 Pounds Fruit Equivalent to Pounds of „• 



FRESH FRUITS. ^ 

V 

Apples 34 

Oranges 33 

Pears 40 

Plums SO 

Prunes 46 

Apricots 40 

Nectarines 43 

Figs SO 

Grapes SO 

Watermelons 22 

Nutmeg Melons 19 

DRIED FRUITS. 

Dried prunes 175 

Dried apricots 194 

Dried peaches 190 

Dried figs 186 

Raisins 216 



„ *; -3 pq 



< 


■M 

a 
O 


a* 

u 

6 


<u 
u 

PQ 


O 




V 


1- 


V 

(J 


o 




20 


24 


IS 


15 


17 


16 


18 


16 


13 


9 


13 


19 


23 


14 


14 


16 


IS 


17 


15 


12 


8 


12 


23 


30 


17 


18 


20 


19 


20 


19 


15 


11 


IS 


30 


36 


22 


24 


25 


24 


26 


24 


20 


14 


20 


27 


33 


20 


22 


23 


22 


24 


22 


18 


13 


18 


23 


29 


17 


18 


20 


19 


20 


19 


15 


11 


15 


26 


30 


19 


20 


22 


21 


23 


21 


17 


12 


17 


30 


37 


23 


24 


26 


25 


27 


25 


20 


14 


20 


30 


37 


23 


24 


26 


25 


27 


25 


20 


14 


20 


13 


16 


10 


10 


11 


11 


12 


11 


8 


6 


8 


11 


13 


8 


9 


9 


9 


10 


9 


7 


5 


7 


104 


125 


78 


82 


88 


84 


92 


84 


67 


48 


68 


115 


138 


86 


90 


97 


93 


102 


93 


74 


53 


76 


113 


135 


85 


88 


95 


91 


100 


91 


72 


51 


74 


110 


132 


83 


85 


93 


89 


97 


89 


71 


50 


72 


128 


153 


97 


100 


108 


103 


111 


103 


82 


59 


84 



As the demand was partly due to war needs it may not always 
continue so productive, but the Prune and Apricot Growers' As- 
sociation, in their contracts for 1919, were guaranteed $31.50 a ton 
for apricot pits, cash on delivery, and whatever further profit may 
develop from their operations. The kernels are valuable for the es- 
sential oil that is extracted from them, which is used in various 
chemical and commercial preparations. The meal resulting from 



500 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 

crushing and expressing is used in the preparation of macaroons and 
other confections. The shells are burned to a charcoal, which is 
used in the gas masks. Peach pits are burnt for the same purpose, 
and the Peach Growers' Association gathered quantities of them. 

The disposition of waste fruit by growers will, however, lie 
chiefly in the line of feeding animals unless denatured alcohol enter- 
prises which are now being exploited should consume it at profitable 
prices. 

Waste Fruits for Stock Feeding. — Refuse fresh fruit of all kinds, 
and especially refuse dried fruits, have nutritive value which is now 
being systematically secured. A statement of the value of cost of 
handling. Refuse fresh fruits of all kinds, and especially refuse 
dried fruits have nutritive value which should not be lost. A state- 
ment of the value of various fruits as compared with various cattle 
foods has been prepared by Prof. M. C. Jaffa, of the University Ex- 
periment Station, in the adjacent table. 

A good average of the pitted fresh fruits is represented by prunes. 
Using the equivalents in the table above for computation, it appears 
that if wheat bran costs $15 per ton, fresh prunes would be worth as 
a substitute $3 per ton ; likewise, if cottonseed meal is selling for $21 
per ton, the prune value would be about $2.75. At the market price 
of oat hay, the figures for fresh prunes should be nearly $3 per ton. 

A practical demonstration of feeding fresh cull peaches to hogs 
was made by a Sutter County grower. About 110 head of hogs,, 
young and old, were kept for fattening on peaches. A sack of bar- 
ley was fed twice a week and a few small potatoes bought at 25 
cents per sack. About 25 boxes of peaches twice a day was the 
hogs' capacity. The grower's judgment was that the hogs fed on 
fresh peaches made such satisfactory gains that he hauled twenty 
tons a mile and a half from another orchard to feed them. 

It is also claimed that hogs will leave milk and cocoanut meal to 
eat cull oranges, but whether for food or tonic does not appear. 

The dried fruits naturally rank far above the fresh material as 
stock feed. Of the dried fruits represented in the table, raisins lead 
in food value ; containing one and one-fourth to one and one-half 
times the nutritive ingredients of alfalfa and oat hays, respectively ;. 
100 pounds of the fruit being practically equal to the same quantity 
of grain, but to only eighty-two and fifty-nine pounds respectively 
of rice bran and cottonseed meal. 

Dried apricots rank slightly lower than raisins, because they con- 
tain more water. Apricots are, however, of equal value as a feeding 
stuff, with wheat bran and almond hulls about half as much as 
alfalfa hay, bran or middlings. 

Concerning the feeding of raisins to hogs, the following state- 
ments are made : "With raisins selling at 2^ cents per pound they 
are much cheaper food for hogs than corn or barley. Raisins give 
the hog a hard, sweet meat and are much sought after by the butch- 
ers. Care must, however, be exercised in feeding raisins to hogs, 
as they are full of sugar, and consequently too rich when fed alone. 
They heat the animal up so that the hogs lose flesh and will kill 
the little pigs of a farrowing sow. For fall and winter feeding. 



FRUIT WASTES FOR STOCK-FEEDING 5Q1 

pumpkins, citrons and alfalfa are the best feed to give the hogs in 
■conjunction with the raisins, but in the spring a change is found 
very beneficial. 

Many people feeding raisins to hogs are not having the success 
they should because they overfeed their porkers. A pound of 
raisins a day is ample to start in with. After the system of the hog 
has become accustomed to the raisins the amount can be increased 
so that the last three weeks each hog should get about four pounds 
of raisins a day. The last ten days, when the finishing touches are 
being put on, the hogs should be allowed all they can get." 

Cull and second-crop raisins beat barley, pound for pound, as 
a feed for work mules, according to O. Peterson of the W. M. Giffin 
vineyard near Dinuba, who fed sixteen mules nothing but a gallon 
a feed twice per day of raisins with alfalfa hay. The mules had 
received practically nothing else for years, says Mr. Peterson, and 
were reported "hog fat," showing that their appetites do not fail on 
the fruit. Stems and all are fed, and a few moldy raisins in the lot 
do not seem to signify. 

A San Joaquin County grower reported feeding dried cull To- 
kays. For five years he has dried all the culls he needed from the 
early pickings. Horses, cows and calves eat them, stems and all, and 
he considers these dried grapes at least equal in feed value to barley. 

Wine grapes rich in sugar have been cheaply dried on the ground 
and used to advantage for hog feed. One grower says that having 
more than the hogs required, grapes were fed to the horses : "The 
horses soon got a taste for them and seemed to thrive well on the 
new diet and in a short time became fat and sleek, while they were 
being worked as hard as ever, and we continued to feed them dried 
grapes and have kept it up for a whole year. The effect seems to 
have made the old horses five years younger, both in looks and in 
ability to work. The hogs fattened up so quickly that we thought 
the pork w^ould be soft and sloppy, but to our surprise, we never had 
better bacon and ham than was produced from these grape-fed pork- 
ers. It was not only solid, but sweet and tender." 

Prune-fed and raisin-fed pork is indeed an accomplished fact in 
California. As to the acceptability of the fruit diet to the hog, what 
could be more pertinent and more fitting appendix to this treatise 
than this little tale? It is stated that Mr. Balaam, of Farmersville, 
used to have a pet pig that ran under the fig trees near the house. 
When the fruit began to drop, he ate figs and rested in the shade 
until he finally grew too fat to move about to gather the sweet 
morsels. By this time his owner became so much interested in the 
case as to carry him his figs regularly three times daily. Gradually 
he grew so fat that his eyes closed entirely, but still he ate figs in 
contentment and delight. 



PLA.TE ILLUSTRATIONS 

Plate I. California homes submerged in a sea of prune 

blossoms Frontispiece 

Opposite Page 
II. Ground view of good job of fruit-thinning 32 

III. Deep plowing in young orchard 33 

IV. Cement ditches and irrigation by check system 96 

V. A good start toward an apple orchard 97 

VI. Typical aspect of a bearing apricot orchard 128 

VII. Young cherry orchard in good form 129 

VIII. Bearing peach orchard in an irrigated district 224 

IX. Profuse bearing of vine by long pruning 225 

X. Prize Emperor Vineyard in Tulare County 256 

XI. The Sevillano olive as grown in Tehama County 257 

XII. View in bearing orange orchard 384 

XIII. The Mammoth Blackberry 385 

XIV. The Loganberry 416 

XV. California sunshine evaporator with accessory buildings 417 



INDEX 



Acorns, edible 40 

Alfalfa in orchard 133 

Alkaline soils 34 

water for irrigation 192 

Alligator Pear 324 

Almond, The 433 

growing from seed 68 

hulhng and bleaching 436 

pollination 437 

propagation 433 

pruning 435 

situations and soils 434 

wild 40 

varieties 199, 437 

Animals, injurious 490 

Apple in California 198 

aphis, resistant 201 

aphis, wooUy 474 

drying 460 

exposures for 201 

gathering 206 

irrigation 295 

locaUties for 198 

mildew 486 

mission 42 

native crab 36 

planting distance 203 

picking and packing 207 

poUination 209 

propagation 202 

pruning 203 

scab or smut 202 

second crop 200 

seedlings, growing 61 

shipping 208 

soils for 201 

storehouse for 206 

summer and fall 208 

thinning 205 

varieties, most popular 196 

when to pick 206 

winter 208, 214 

worm 479 

varieties 209 

Apricot 213 

chmatic requirements 214 

diseases of 222 

distances for 217 

drying 461 

exposures for 214 

growing seedlings 65 

irrigation 221 

localities for 214 

mission 42 

old trees 214 

on almond root 216 

planting 217 

pruning 218 

shot-hole fungus 220 



Page 

Apricot — continued 

stocks and soils for 215 

thinning 220 

varieties 223 

Army worms 469 

Atmospheric humidity 21 

Avocado 324 

Banana, The 393 

Barberry, native 39 

Bear berry 39 

Bergamot 398 

Berries and currants 409 

Berries, various wild 38 

Birds, poisoning 492 

Blackberry, The 410 

cultivation 411 

hybrids 425 

distances for 411 

irrigating 413 

longevity of 413 

propagation 410 

pruning 412, 416 

wUd 38 

varieties 414 

Blasting for planting 94 

Bordeaux Mixture 486 

Borers 478 

Brush, cutting to kill 59 

Budding, common method 71 

June 72 

over old trees 80 

spring 73 

Bud, cutting to a 123 

Buds, dormant 79 

Buffalo berry 39 

Cactus fruits 40 

Canker worms 470 

Canned fruit product 453 

Canning industry 453 

Caterpillars 470 

Chain for laying out 93 

Chamisal and chaparral 57 

Charcoal making 58 

Cherimoyer 399 

Cherry 226 

delayed fruiting of 228 

distances for 230 

exposures for 229 

gum disease 234 

grafting the 233 

locahties for 229 

moisture requirements 233 

old trees. . 226 

pests and diseases 233 

pollination 229 

pruning the 231 

seedlings, growing 64 



504 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Page 
Cherry — continued 

slug 471 

soils for the 227 

stocks for the 230 

wild 37 

varieties 199,232 

Chestnut, The 450 

seedhngs 68 

wild 40 

Choco or Chayota 400 

Citron, The 397 

Clearing land for fruit 55 

brushy 56, 59 

gradual 65 

stump puller 56, 58 

with powder 56 

time to cut to kill 59 

Climate, divisions of California 11 

of California, characteristics of . . . .9, 18 

of California, why mild 10, 18 

foothill 15 

mountain 16 

coast 13 

valley 14 

value of 23 

Cloudiness, east and west 21 

Coast pests and diseases 14 

Codlin moth 479 

Corner, to find true 88 

Cover crops 133 

Cranberries 415 

wild 39 

Crops between trees or vines 133 

Cultivation 129 

adequate 132, 141 

hillside 136 

methods of 134 

purposes of 130 

shallow, results of 131 

summer 136, 140 

to retain moisture 130 

without plowing 139 

Currants 419 

culture of 420 

regions for 419 

varieties grown 421 

wild 38 

Custard apple 399 

Cuttings, fruit trees from 67 

Cutworms 469 

Dates 327 

at the missions 327 

bearing age of 330 

bearing in Solano County 327 

blooming of 330 

first fruit 327 

from seed 329 

from suckers 329 

propagation of 330 

requirements of 328 

transplanting 329 

Dewberry 415 

Diabroticas 480 



Page 

Die-back 488 

Diseases of trees and vines 486 

Dormant buds 79 

Drainage desirable 60, 191 

Dried fruits (see Fruits) 455 

covering 474 

cutting sheds 458 

dipping 460 

drying floors 458 

grading and cleaning 457, 460 

packing 460 

product of 455 

sulphuring 459 

sweating 460 

trays for 457 

worm 474 

Elderberries 37 

Evaporated fruits 466 

Evaporator, sunshine 466 

Feijoa Sellowiana 401 

Fertilization, science of 142 

analyses not guide to 146 

essential elements 145 

plant food, "available" 147 

specific effects 149 

substances for 152 

use of 154 

value of organic 157 

Fertilizers in CaUfornia 141 

caution in use of 156 

for trees and vines 143 

lime and gypsum 155 

methods of appljang 158 

value of green 157 

when necessary 150 

sources of nitrogen 152 

sources of phosphoric acid 152 

sources of potash 152 

waste products for 158 

Fig 333 

bearing age 331 

budding 336 

caprification 339 

drying 461 

foes of 340 

from cuttings 335 

from seeds 337 

grafting 336 

mission 42 

planting and pruning 341 

regions for 334 

size of old trees 333 

soils for 334 

varieties 341 

Filbert growing 451 

wild 40 

Frosts, protection from 493 

Fruit, cultivation 130 

Fruit gardens, early 47 

Fruit industries, influence of 52 

Fruit industries, outlook of 63 

Fruit interest, extent of 51 



INDEX 



505 



Page 

Fruit products, value of 51 

Fruit shipments, eastern 50 

Fruit, soil ingredients of 145 

Fruit thinning 127 

Fruit tree acreage 51 

Fruit trees, dwarf 47, 265 

Fruits, California leadership in 46 

Fruits, drying 455 

drying floors 458 

graders 460 

grafted, first in California 46 

locations for 12 

value as stock food 499 

Fruits, commercial varieties 199 

Fruits, locations for 12 

Fruits, mission 42 

Fruits, native 36 

Fruits, Russian 45 

Fruits used by canners 454 

Goat nut, or jajoba 40 

Gooseberry, The 421 

culture of 422 

requirements of 421 

varieties 422 

wild 38 

Gophers, killing 490 

Graft, time to 83 

Grafting 73 

bark 84 

bridge 82 

cleft 76 

old trees 83 

root 76 

side 76 

time for 83 

top 81 

whip 76 

wax for 75 

waxed bands 76 

Grafts, planting out 76 

Granadilla 402 

Grape, area of 51, 288 

budding 296 

conditions of ripening 19 

dibbles for planting 302 

diseases of 315 

distance 301 

Eastern 320 

from cuttings 292 

from layers 292 

from seed 292 

frost injuries 314 

grafting 297 

industry 288 

length of season 290 

mildew 486 

mission 42, 44 

number per acre 301 

planting devices 302 

planting in rows 301 

products 289 

pruning 305 



Page 
Grape — continued 

pruning, long 311 

pruning, short 306 

resistant 300 

rooting in nursery 296 

shipping 291 

soils for... 290 

stakes, twine, etc 305 

suckering 317 

sulphuring 476 

summer pruning 310, 313 

syrup 463 

topping 309 

trellising 312 

varieties 317 

wild 37 

Grape fruit or pomelo 387 

Grasshoppers, killing 468 

Growing season, long 23 

Guava, The 400 

Gummosis 486 

Gypsum, uses of 145 

Hardpan, breaking up 85, 94 

Heat, deficient on coast 13 

importance of 18 

summer, records of 19 

Heeling in young trees 99 

Hexagonal planting 91, 92 

Hillside, rows on 90 

use of triangle on 93 

Holes for trees 94, 95 

Huckleberries, wild 39 

Humidity, atmospheric 21 

deficient 24 

east and west 22 

excessive 24 

Insects, injurious 468 

Insects, remedies 482 

Irrigation 157 

alkali water 192 

ditches 185 

drainage and 194 

evils of excessive 161 

flooding..... 170 

for citrus fruits 164 

for deciduous fruits 164 

flume building for 184 

hillside 176,180 

how much 157, 159 

implements for 172 

in early days 48 

in basins 175 

in checks 170 

in furrows 173, 177, 182 

leveling for 187 

locating contour lines 187 

measurement of water 190 

methods of 170 

nursery 69 

objections answered 161 

overhead 185 

relation to cultivation 166 



506 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Irrigation — continued Page 

relation to rainfall 163 

relation to soil 165 

relation to tillage 166 

reservoirs, small 188 

running ditches for 185 

subirrigation 193 

suggestions for 192 

summer 170, 179 

taken from ditches 186 

wells and pumps for 190 

wheels for 189 

when desirable 160, 164 

winter 168 

Jajoba 40 

Jujube of commerce 403 

Jujube, native 40 

June buds 79 

Kai apple 408 

Laying out land for fruit 86 

Leaf Uce 474 

Lemon, The 390 

curing 395 

picking 396 

planting and pruning 389 

propagation 70, 392 

situations and soils for 391 

varieties 396 

Lemon berry 40 

Lice, leaf 474 

Lime, The 397 

Loganberry 425 

Loquat, The 403 

Manure 157 

Manuring at planting 103 

Manzanita berries 39 

Marls 145 

Measuring wire 88 

Melon Shrub 406 

Melon tree 407 

Mildew 486 

Miner's inch 190 

Mission fruits 42 

Moisture lost by weed growth 130 

retained by cultivation 128 

Morning Glory, kiUing 138 

Moss, removing 487 

Mulberry, The 423 

Mulching, after planting 105 

Mulching as substitute for cultivation 142 

Nectarine 256 

compared with peach 256 

dried 256,462 

future of 257 

varieties 257 

Nitrogen for fruits 152 

Nursery 61 

budding and grafting 70 

classes of nursery stock 79 

growing seedhngs 63 

imported seedlings 67 

irrigation 69 

laying out and planting 68 



Nursery — continued Page 

pruning in 78 

selection of site for 62 

soil, preparation of 63 

soil, proper for 61 

trees, ages of 80, 81 

trees, digging 98 

trees, disinfecting 472 

trees, selecting 97 

when to plant 100 

Nuts, growing in California 433 

growing from seed 66 

wild 40 

Olives 344 

at old missions 43 

budding 348 

canning 357 

climate for 344 

from cuttings 345 

from seed 345 

grafting 349 

locaUties for 339 

oil making 354 

planting 351 

preferred varieties 352 

pruning 351 

pickling 357 

small cuttings 347 

soils for 345 

truncheons 347 

twig borer 478 

wild . 40 

varieties 199, 357 

Orange 359 

aU the year from California 362 

budding and grafting 371 

Cahfornia regions discussed 363 

conditions for citrus fruits 365 

diseases 382 

distances for 371 

from cuttings 70, 367 

from layers 367 

from seed 367 

in Central California 364 

in Southern California 364 

mission 42 

nursery 369 

outlook 365 

planting in orchard 372 

product 53, 359 

propagation 368 

pruning 376 

ripening first at the north 364 

seedlings, care of 372 

situations and soils for 366 

superiority of semi-tropical 362 

transplanting 373 

world's industry 359 

varieties 200, 383 

Orchard land, preparation of 85 

laying out in squares 88 

alternating squares 89 

equilateral triangles 89 

measure and sight 87 

measuring wire 87 



INDEX 



507 



Orchard land — continued Page 

quincunx planting 90 

time for planting 100 

Oregon grape 39 

Oso berry 37 

Palm nuts 40 

Peach 238 

age at planting 243 

approved lists of 199 

blight 249 

curl-leaf 249 

diseases 249 

distance in planting 243 

dormant buds 244 

drying 462 

early bearing 238 

grafting 248 

growing season of 23 

irrigation 248 

locahties for 240 

longevity of 238 

mildew 248 

mission 42 

moth 478 

"peach almond" 243 

pitting clings 462 

propagation 242 

pruning 116, 239, 245 

renewal by cutting back 239 

root borer 478 

seedlings 65 

soils for 241 

stocks for 243 

thinning 125, 247 

varieties 199, 250 

Peanut growing 451 

Pear 259 

Bartlett, why popular 260 

blight 262,265 

characteristics in California 259 

diseases 259 

distances for 257 

drying 461 

dwarf 263 

for alkali soil 255 

gathering and ripening 268 

irrigation 265 

largest on record 259 

localities for 260 

mission 42 

on quince stock 262 

pollination 268 

propagation of 262 

pruning 264 

seedhngs, growing 64 

slug 471 

soils for 262 

storing and ripening 267 

thinning 265 

varieties 199, 269 

Pecan, The 452 

Persimmon, Japanese 404 

Persimmon, Virginian 404 

Persimmon, cxiring 405 

Phenomenal berry 425 



Page 

Phosphates 152 

Phylloxera 474 

Pineapple 405 

Pine nuts 40 

Pioneers, planting by 46 

Pistachio, The 452 

Planting, conditions favoring 85 

bar for setting 96 

cutting back after 105, 112 

depth of 103 

digging holes for 94 

laying off for 87, 89 

mulching 104 

operation of 101 

preparing land for 85 

speed in 103 

time for 100 

triangular tree-setter 96 

use of manure 103 

use of water 102 

Plow, laying off with 88 

Plowing, devices for 132 

orchard and vineyard 133 

on hillside 134 

to break hardpan 85 

Plums and prunes 272 

California false 37 

confusion in names 278 

definition of a prune 272 

drying 463 

from the root 274 

grafting 276 

in Southern California 273 

length of season 272 

localities for 272 

mission 43 

mjTobalan 274 

planting 275 

pollination 281 

propagation 273 

pruning the 275 

seedlings 65 

stocks and soils 273 

thinning 281 

varieties 199, 281 

wild 36 

Plumcot, The 278 

Pomegranate, The 43, 406 

Pomelo 387 

varieties. 200, 387 

Popular fruit varieties 197 

Potash 143 

Powder for planting 94 

Prickly pear 41, 407 

Prime curing 463 

Pruning 107 

bearing trees 117 

California style 110 

effects of 123 

gathering brush 126 

influenced by location 107 

low, advantages of 108, 109 

nursery 78 

prunings as fertihzer 158 

purposes of 108 



508 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Pruning — continued Page 

times for 121 

tools 125 

to renew old trees 123 

vase form, securing 115 

wounds, covering 126 

Quince 286 

demand for 286 

propagation 286 

pruning 286 

soils for 287 

varieties 287 

Quincunx planting 90 

Rabbits, destroying 490 

poisons for 491 

smears for 490 

Rainfall, records of 12 

Rainfall or irrigation 163 

Raisin making 465 

Raspberry, The 423 

black-caps 425 

hybrids 426 

pruning 424 

varieties, popular 425 

wild 38 

Red spider 473 

Root rot 488 

Root-knots 488 

Russian introduction of fruits 45 

Salal 39 

Salmon berry 38 

Sapota, white 407 

Scale insects 470 

Scions, care of 73 

selection of 73 

Sea Fig 40 

Seed, growing trees from 65 

Seedlings, imported 67 

Septuple, laying off 89 

Service Berry 39 

Soils for fruits 25 

adobe 33 

alkali 34 

alluvial 31 

bed-rock or hard-pan 34 

blasting 94 

characteristics of California 26 

classification of 28 

clay 33 

defective 33 

desert 30 

exanaination of 35 

granitic 32 

loams 28,29,32 

mesa 30 

organic matter 157 

plains 29 

red 32 

river bottom 31 

sedimentary or silty 31 

shallow blasting 94 

Sour sap 482 

Spider, red 473 

Squares, laying off in 87 

Squirrels, destroying 491 



Page 

Stock, fruit as food for 499 

Strawberry 426 

care of 429 

continuous bearing 430 

laying out for 427 

planting 429 

propagation 427 

situations and soils 426 

varieties, popular 200, 431 

wild 38 

Strawberry tree 406 

Summer pruning 120 

Sunburn, protection from 105 

Sunlight, value of direct 20 

Sunshine, evaporating 452 

records of 21 

Temperature, lowest 18 

records of 18 

Thinning fruit 125 

Thrips 472 

Tomato, tree 408 

Toyon 40 

Trees, activity and rest of 17 

heeling in 99 

selecting 97 

Tree-setters 96 

Triangle for laying out 92 

Tuna fruit 41 

Tussock moth 471 

Varieties, chiefly planted 194, 196 

Vine hoppers 473 

Vine-puller 61 

Vineyard — see Grape 

Walnut, black 40 

Walnut, English . 439 

bacteriosis or blight 483 

bleaching 447 

blossoms of 446 

budding ; 441 

culture and soils 440 

gathering and drying 446 

grafting 441 

growing seedlings 68 

product 51, 439 

propagation and planting 441 

pruning 445 

soils 440 

varieties 200,447 

wild 40 

Water, measurements 190 

Wax, grafting 75 

Weed killing by cultivation 141 

Weeds, evaporation by 132 

Weir measurement 192 

What fruits to plant 198 

Whitewash against sunburn 105 

Whitewash to delay bloom 497 

Wild fruits of California 36 

Windbreaks 493 

Winter-killing unknown 18 

Wire, measuring 87 

Woolly aphis 474 

Wounds, covering 126 

Yellow jackets, killing 480 



California Garden Flowers 

Shrubs, Trees and Vines 



Being Mainly Suggestions for Working Amateurs 



By EDWARD J. WICKSON 

Hon. F*resident California State Floral Society 



First Edition— 1915 



262 Pages, 5}4\7}i Inches; Illustrated; Cloth 

Bound; 12 Full-page Photo-plates and 

Numerous Text Illustrations. 



This book aims to tell the beginner in California, whether he be a scholar 
struggling with his school-garden, or a suburbanite gazing vacemtly on his residence 
lot, or the farm-home maker, who is puzzled to translate his experience with teams, 
plows and pasture fields into trowels, pruning-shears and lawns, just what to do to 
make garden-soils, grow plants and surround his £ibode with beauty under the pecu- 
liar cUmatic conditions of California. 



Price, $1.50 per Copy, Postpaid 



Contents by Chapter Titles 

Introductory. Ghmatic Characters and Advantages. Soils and Fertilizers. 
Tillage and Irrigation. Laying Out the Garden. Elements of Propagation. Growth 
of Plants from Seeds. Growth of Plants from Buds. Hot-Beds and Cold Frames. 
The Amateur's Greenhouse. Planting, Priming and Training. Characters, Adap- 
tations and Requirements of the Months. Lawns and Ground-Covers. The Rose. 
The Carnation. The Chrysanthemum. Open-air. Herbaceous Plants. Bulbs, 
Tubers and Roots. Flowers for Hot, Dry Regions. Water Plants in Gardens. 
Choice and Treatment of Arborescent Plants. Shrubs Approved. Garden Palms. 
Trees for Ornaments and Shade. Climbing Plants for Gardens. Methods Against 
Plemt Pests and Diseases. 



"Second Thousand Answered 
Questions in California Agriculture^ 

By E. J. WICKSON 

This, the latest work of the author, consists of 1000 of the most 
important questions on every subject that have perplexed the farmer 
during the last few years, and which have been submitted to the editor. 
In this book, the problem appears with its solution by Prof. Wickson 
inmaediately following. 

The departments of the book consist of the most important prob- 
lems that have confronted our readers in Fruit Growing, Vegetable 
Growing, Grain and Forage Crops, Soils, Fertilizing and Irrigation, 
Live Stock and Dairy, Diseases of Animals, Feeding Farm Animals, 
Poultry-keeping and Pests and Diseases of Plants. 

"Second Thousand Answered Questions in California Agriculture** 
is undoubtedly the best reference book that has ever been pubUshed, 
and should be in the hands of every California farmer. 



Contains 256 Pages. Handsomely bound in Cloth. 

Price, $1.50 Postpaid. 



PACIFIC RURAL PRESS 

Publishers 
525 Market St., San Franci8co,^Cal. 



ESTABLISHED IN 1870 



OLDEST AND MOST RELIABLE FARM PAPER ON 
THE PACIFIC COAST 

The Pacific Rural Press 



WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED 



Edited by Prof. E. J. Wickson 
Published by Frank Honey^veU 



You need the 

PACIFIC RURAL PRESS 

in your work in the orchard, 
on the farm or stock ranch. 

It will keep you posted on the latest and best 
in agricultural practice. 



SUBSCRIPTION PRICE 
$1.00 per Year in the U. S. Foreign Countries, $2.00 

Address : 

PACIFIC RURAL PRESS 

525 Market Street San Francisco, Cal., U. S. A. 



California Vegetables 



IN 



GARDEN AND FIELD 



A MANUAL OF PRACTICE WITH AND WITHOUT IRRIGATION 



By EDWARD J. WICKSON 



Chapter. 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 
V. 
VI. 
VII. 
VIII. 
IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 



CONTENTS 




Chapter. 


Vegetable Growing in California. 


XX. 


Farmers' Gardens in California. 


XXI. 


California Climate as Related to 


XXII. 


Vegetable Growing. 


XXIII. 


Vegetable Soils of California. 


XXIV. 


Garden Irrigation. 


XXV. 


Garden Drainage in California. 


XXVI. 


Cultivation. 


XXVII. 


Fertilization. 


XXVIII. 


Garden Location and Arrange- 


XXIX. 


ment. 


XXX. 


The Planting Season. 


XXXI. 


Propagation. 


XXXII. 


Asparagus. 


XXXIII. 


Artichokes. 


XXXIV. 


Beans. 


XXXV. 


Beet. 


XXXVI. 


Cabbage Family. 




Carrot, Parsnip and Salsify. 


XXXVII. 


Celery. 


XXXVIII. 


Chicory. 


XXXIX. 



Com. 

Cucumber. 

Egg Plant. 

Lettuce. 

Melons. 

Onion Family. 

Peas. 

Peppers. 

Potatoes. 

Radishes. 

Rhubarb. 

Spinach. 

Squashes. 

Tomato. 

Turnip. 

Vegetable Sundries. 

Vegetables for Canning and 

Drying. 
Seed Growing in California. 
Garden Protection. 
Weeds in CEdifornia. 



Fourth Edition — Revised and Extended 

Handsomely Illustrated. Cloth Bound 

COMMENDATION OF "CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES" 

The work will be found of inestimable assistance to those who are interested in vegetable grow- 
ing in California, not only on a large scale, but to the large number who cultivate these products for 
their own consumption.-— San Francisco Call. 

We take no risk in advising every Califomian who has a garden spot to procure a copy. — San 
Fbancisco Chronicle. 

Not only interesting but valuable to every one in this State who cultivates ever so small a lot 
of ground. The author is eminently qualified for the work which he hM just completed. — San Fran- 
cisco Bulletin. 

It treats of the proper culture of all leading vegetables in California. It is full of information 
and instruction. It is so clear that whoever uses it as a guide book can not go astray in vegetedble 
culture. The work is freely illustrated and handsomely bound.— Sacramento Record-Union. 

Covers every part of the State in technical analysis and physical demonstration. — Pet- 
ALUMA Courier. 

It treats of every feature of vegetable production in plain, common-sense terms, and gives 
reasons for its assertions. — Pomona Times. 



Price $2.00, Postpaid Anywhere 

Address, PACIFIC RURAL PRESS, Publishers, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 



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